Life Changing: Again
by Bluebell140
Summary: She's had them all to herself since she was two. But now that she has to share them with two screaming babies, Jasmine isn't so sure she likes this change in her life. Sequel to Life Changing. Troyella
1. Adjusting

**I'm so sorry about how long it's taken me to get out, I wanted it to be out sooner and I'm so sorry that it wasn't.**

**I'm slightly worried about how well this is going to be accepted seeing as it was a while ago since I wrote Life Changing, but I guess I'll just have to post it and see.**

**So, without further a do, here's the first chapter to Life Changing: Again, enjoy! **

Adjusting

The door slammed loudly and the baby boys who had just fallen asleep were now wide awake and their Mum was on the verge of tears, while their Dad was far from happy with their big sister.

"Jasmine Marie Bolton, you come back down here, right now," The twelve year had just entered her bedroom when Troy called her back downstairs and so made the point of slamming her bedroom door a couple of times, before coming back downstairs.

"What?" She asked angrily, her left hip jutted out as she stood.

"Don't you dare use that tone with me young lady. You do not slam doors, do you hear me? We just got your brothers to sleep and your Mum has a thumping headache and you coming in and slamming the front door and your bedroom door for that matter does not help." Troy raised his voice but didn't shout, he knew Gabriella would be trying to get the boys back to sleep.

"Well how was I supposed to know you just got them to sleep? I'm not psychic Dad."

"That's not the point Jasmine, they're two week old babies, they're gonna cry at whatever loud noise there is and you shouldn't be slamming doors anyway, you've always been taught that, it just seems recently you've forgotten it. I don't understand what's going on in your head right now Jazz, you were fine when they first came home, but these past couple of days you seem to have made it your mission to upset the twins and Gabi, why sweetheart? I know this is all new to you, but if something's bothering you, you need to tell us so that we can try and help you." Jasmine had her eyes trained on the floor as Troy spoke to her and as she lifted her head to look Troy in the eye, he was surprised to see she had tears brimming in them.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, before turning on her heel and running back upstairs to her room, but to Troy's surprise, she didn't slam her door.

Sighing, Troy ran his hands through his hair and made his way back towards the lounge, where his wife and newborn sons where situated.

Yeah that's right, Troy and Gabriella had been married for a little over two years now and four months after they said 'I do', Gabriella signed the papers, along with Troy and Jasmine, that legally made them mother and daughter, yeah you're right again, Gabriella adopted Jasmine. And these baby boys?

These baby boys are Troy and Gabriella's, two week old sons, Michael and Mitchell Alexander Bolton. The only thing that stops these little boys being identical is that while Michael has Troy's sandy brown hair, Mitchell has Gabriella's dark brown. Other than that they both look exactly like Troy, Michael pretty much being a mini Troy, the boys both have Troy's electric blue eyes, identifying them as his sons.

Walking back into the lounge, Troy found that Gabriella had gotten the boys back to sleep, but she was slumped down on the floor against the couch, near the boys' bassinette, softly crying into her hands. She looked up once she realised Troy was back in the room and gave him a soft, watery smile while trying to wipe away her tears.

"Cuddle?" Troy asked her, as he walked over to the bit of the couch behind Gabriella and sat on it, before pulling her up onto it with him. He cupped Gabriella's face in his hands and wiped away her remaining tears with the pads of his thumbs. "Okay I'm rephrasing that; you can only have a cuddle if you stop crying, deal?" Gabriella nodded with a sniffle and allowed Troy to settle them more comfortably on the couch for a much needed hug.

"My head is thumping so badly Troy; it feels like I've got a million drums being played up there." Gabriella's voice was soft and Troy knew she was on the verge of more tears.

"I'm sorry sweetheart; Jasmine shouldn't have slammed those doors. Listen, why don't you go up and cuddle down in bed and I'll bring you up some pain killers?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea and I put some milk in the fridge if the boys wake up and want feeding, is Jazzy okay?" Gabriella's voice was still soft, as Troy led her towards the stairs,

"I don't know, I don't think so, I told her off for slamming the doors and told her that if something was bothering her she should tell us and then she looked me in the eye, on the verge of tears, said sorry and ran back up to her room, I didn't think it would be a very good idea to follow her."

"No probably not, but I'll poke my head in now and see if she's alright, I haven't had much time for her since we brought the boys home."

"Okay, as long as you feel up to it, I'll grab you some painkillers and be up in a few," Troy kissed Gabriella on the forehead as they reached the bottom of the stairs and watched her climb the first few steps, before heading through to the kitchen.

**TGTGTGTG**

Gabriella had had enough of people crying today, her sons, herself and now by the sounds of it her daughter as well. The loud sobs that were coming from Jasmine's room indicated that she was still crying and told Gabriella that this wasn't just over her slamming the doors.

After knocking on the door multiple times and getting no reply, Gabriella walked in and was met with a young girl in distress. Jasmine had trashed her room, throwing things all over the place and smashing a glass she had in there, but what broke Gabriella's hearts the most was the state of Jasmine herself. She was curled up on her bed, her teddy Rosie cuddled close to her chest, as she let out heart wrenching sobs.

Jasmine lifted her head when she realised she was no longer alone in the room and really wanting a hug right now, got up and slowly made her way towards Gabriella, unsure of why she was there in the first place.

"Come here sweetheart," Gabriella held her arms out to Jasmine and she quickly collapsed into them, sobbing against Gabriella's shoulder, as she let out all her pent up emotions. "Oh Jazzy please stop crying, it's gonna be okay honey, it's all gonna be okay." Not feeling too steady on her feet, Gabriella led Jasmine back over to her bed and settled herself against the wall which was next to the bed, as Jasmine crawled next to her and laid with her head in her Mum's lap.

"Talk to me honey, what's gotten you in this state?" Jasmine shrugged as Gabriella started running her hands through her hair. "Please Jazzy talk to me, why are you so upset?"

"I think I got my period yesterday," Jasmine whispered, before rolling onto her side and burying her head into Gabriella's stomach as more tears began to fall.

"Oh honey its okay," Gabriella replied, as she ran a comforting hand up and down Jazzy's back. "Why didn't you come and tell me?"

"You always look so tired now and you're always looking after the boys and it's kinda embarrassing." Gabriella smiled softly, as Jasmine sat up and wiped away her tears, before self consciously wrapping her arms around herself.

Gabriella grabbed Jasmine's pyjamas, which were resting neatly on top of her pillows and passed them to her as she moved to the edge of the bed. "Bring these and some clean knickers through to mine and your Dad's bathroom and we'll get you sorted out sweetheart. How you feeling about the cramps side of things?"

"I think I'm okay right now, I don't feel right though and my boobs kinda hurt."

Gabriella chuckled softly. "Mine too," she replied. "Just not for the same reason. So, my bathroom in a few?" Jasmine nodded and allowed Gabriella to give her a quick kiss on the fore head, before she headed out of the room, just as Troy walked up the stairs.

"Hey, I thought you'd be curled up in bed by now, Mum phoned so I got delayed and came to tell you, is Jazzy okay?"

"She will be, she's gonna come and cuddle in bed with me for a while," Gabriella told him just as Jasmine came out of her room.

"I'm sorry for slamming the doors Dad," Jasmine's voice was hoarse and her eyes were red from her crying.

"Me too honey," Troy continued when Jasmine looked at him confused. "There's obviously something bothering you and I'm sorry that you didn't feel like you could come to me or Gabi about that, you have told her now though, right?"

"Yeah, Mum's gonna help me out, everything's gonna be fine Dad," Jasmine gave Troy a quick hug, before heading down the corridor to the main bedroom of the house.

"What you gonna help her with?" Troy was clearly confused by what Jasmine had said.

"I'll explain it all to you later honey, it's nothing to worry about. I've got pain killers in the bathroom, now that I think about it, so instead of bringing me some, could you please get the hover and clear up the glass that she's smashed in there. She's trashed the place, so could you maybe tidy it up a little? It'll all make sense to you later, so could you do it without asking any questions?"

Troy nodded. "For you sweetheart, anything," And with that said, a quick hug and kiss was exchanged before the couple headed in different directions, Troy promising to come and check on his girls in a little while.

**TGTGTGTG**

Troy climbed back into bed just as Gabriella finished putting the boys back to sleep in the bassinette in their room. A little over half an hour ago Michael and Mitchell woke up wanting to bed fed and while Gabriella took care of that, Troy would take care of burping and changing them afterwards, with Gabriella breast feeding there wasn't a lot he could do to help. Just as Troy had finished changing Mitchell and Gabriella was lulling Michael back off to sleep, cries could be heard coming from Jasmine's room and so Troy headed off to check it out.

"Is she okay?" Gabriella asked, as she climbed back into bed next to Troy after making sure the boys were completely comfortable.

"I think so, she was really agitated, I think she'd had a nightmare 'cause she was sitting up in bed and breathing really heavily when I walked in, but I gave her a hug and she calmed down and started to drift back off to sleep." Troy answered as he pulled a yawning Gabriella into his arms, allowing her to use his chest as her pillow. "Hey, you never told me what was wrong with her earlier."

"Oh yeah," Gabriella responded, her eyes drooping. "She got her period yesterday, so I was helping her get herself sorted out."

"Woah, I wasn't expecting that, although I guess it was gonna come one day. How come she only told you today? I mean, I understand why she didn't wanna tell me, but why didn't she come and tell you?"

"I asked her that, she said that I always look tired now or that I'm looking after the boys and she said she was kinda embarrassed about it as well."

"Okay, well you have it all under control now, right?"

"Yes Troy, of course I do, I wasn't just gonna leave her to fend for herself, was I?" Gabriella answered and punctuated her sentence with a very loud yawn.

"Okay honey, I'm sorry, I know you would help her, I shouldn't have asked you that, just forget I said it. Lets just get some more sleep, Jazzy has gone back to sleep and you need to get some more sleep before the boys wake up again 'cause I'm at work from seven 'til seven tomorrow." Troy is a fully trained, emergency medicine doctor and works in the accident and emergency department at the local hospital.

"Yeah I remember, what time did Mum say she'd be here?"

"Between half eight and nine, just after Jazzy leaves for school, she said as soon as she gets here you're going back to bed, so don't even try and argue with her tomorrow, you hear me?"

"Mmm-kay," was Gabriella's reply, to which Troy simply chuckled and kissed Gabriella on the head before following her to dream land.

**TGTGTGTG**

"That was the best shower I've had in a long time, thanks Mum."

"No problem sweetie, I'm glad I could help." Maria had arrived at the Bolton household at eight forty five and had immediately sent Gabriella back upstairs telling her to get some more sleep and have a nice long shower before even thinking about coming back downstairs.

"Are the boys both asleep?" Gabriella asked, as she took the coffee Maria was offering her and went through to the lounge.

"Yeah they haven't been down long though; I woke them up with the hovering and they both wanted changing as well, so I did that and then we all had a cuddle for a bit, which sent them back to sleep about twenty minutes ago."

"Thanks Mum," Gabriella said again, as she gave one final look to the boys in their bassinette, before curling up on the sofa. "You should probably know that Jazzy is now officially a woman."

"Okay, when did this happen?" Maria wasn't sure how to respond to this news, but knew it was probably something she needed to know, especially when it would come to Jasmine's sudden mood swings.

"A couple of days ago, she only told me yesterday though, she walked in and was slamming doors, so Troy told her off and she ended up crying. I went in her room to speak to her and found that she'd trashed the place and was sobbing on her bed. We talked and eventually she told me she thought she'd gotten her period and was basically to embarrassed to tell me and with me being busy and tired 'cause of the boys, I'm not sure when she would've said anything, to be honest."

"I'm sure she'd of told you at some point, what did Troy say? He knows right?"

"Yeah he knows, I made him clear up her room and told him not to ask question because I'd explain later, I told him after the boys woke us up at…three, or whatever time it was this morning. He was shocked, I'd say that's the best way to put it, but he knew it would happen at some point so I don't think he's too bother by it, other than having to live with two hormonal women and two newborn babies."

"I'm sure he'll cope, he's a great Dad and husband to you all, you're very special to have someone like him Gabi," Maria told her daughter sincerely.

"I know Mum, believe me I…" Gabriella was cut off by the house phone ringing and she quickly got up to answer it before it woke the boys.

Maria could hear Gabi talking in the hallway but couldn't make out the conversation, all she knew was that it wasn't Troy; her daughter's voice was too serious. It was only a few minutes after that phone call began, that it came to an end and Gabriella walked back into the lounge.

"Who was it honey? Is everything okay?" Maria was concerned as she watched Gabi pick her phone up from the couch before walking back out into the hall to get her shoes from the cupboard under the stairs. "Gabi? Sweetie, what's going on?" 

"That was Jasmine's school, they said that she's been set upon in the girls bathrooms and is really hurt and upset, but she won't leave until I'm there, she's locked herself in one of the stalls and is curled up on the toilet seat with the hood of her hoodie up so no one can see her, they're pretty worried about her. Do you think I'm okay to go dressed like this?" Maria looked at her daughter's attire of some dark purple velvet sweatpants, a black vest top and the zip up jumper to match the bottoms, her hair was pulled up into a messy bun.

"I'd say your fine sweetie, just go to Jazzy, I'll be fine here with the boys, do you want me to phone Troy?" Gabriella shook her head as she finished tying her shoes and picked up her house and car keys.

"He'll only worry at work and from the text he sent me it seems they're pretty short staffed, so he can't come home anyway. Jazzy sounds to be in a real mess and was specifically asking for me, so I'll leave it at that for now, I think too many people will freak her out right now."

"Okay sweetie, you go, take your time and I'll see you when you get back."

"Okay thanks Mum, give the boys a kiss for me," Maria nodded and gave her daughter a hug and kiss, before she was out the door and making her way to East Valley Middle School.

**TGTGTGTG**

"We're sorry to have to call you in Mrs Bolton, but Jasmine is really upset and refusing to leave the bathrooms unless you're here." Gabriella had arrived at East Valley to be met by the deputy head teacher, who was leading her to Jasmine's 'hiding' place.

"It's fine Mrs King, if she needs me, she needs me, it's just a good job my Mum was at home with me so I could leave my sons with her or I would've taken longer getting here while waiting for her to get to ours."

"Ah yes, you have some newborns don't you? Twin boys if I'm correct?"

"Yeah, Michael and Mitchell, they're two weeks old now, things are a bit crazy but we're slowly adjusting."

"I can imagine, but I'm sure Jasmine is a great big sister, she's just in here," Mrs King had stopped and was gesturing to the door of the girls' bathroom.

"Okay thank you, if it's alright with you, I think I'll take her home afterwards."

"Please do, it'll give us a chance to deal with the people who did this and give Jasmine a chance to recover. Just give us a call before she comes back and we'll do our best to make everything easy for her to settle back in." Gabriella thanked Mrs King again and with the information to sign Jasmine out at the office before they left, she pushed open the door to the toilets and finding only one of the cubicles occupied, the one at the far end, it wasn't hard for her to figure out where Jasmine was.

On the phone Mrs King had told Gabriella that people had looked over the top of the cubicle wall to check on Jasmine and talk to her, that's how they knew how she was sitting, but Gabriella wasn't going to do that. She knew invading Jasmine's space would only upset her more and that she needed to gain Jasmine's trust before she could enter the place, which right now, seemed to be her safe haven.

"Jazzy sweetheart it's Mum, are you okay in there?" It seemed like a stupid question to ask but Gabriella wanted to alert Jasmine to her presence and get her talking, before she tried getting her to open the door.

"They hurt me Mum, they really hurt me," Jasmine's voice was shaking and was hoarse, but right now it sounded like she'd stopped herself from crying.

"Yeah sweetheart, so I heard, you think you can open the door so I can take a look at you and give you a hug?" Gabriella didn't get an answer this time and didn't think she was going to get one, until she heard movement and then that tell tale click of the cubicle door unlocking.

Jasmine wouldn't look at Gabriella, she kept her eyes trained on the floor, but it wasn't hard for Gabriella to see the wetness on her cheeks or her incredibly swollen left eye. She had her arms self-consciously wrapped around her stomach and she was clearly shaking, as more tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

Wordlessly, Gabriella stepped forward and took the broken young girl into her arms and held her for the next few minutes as she let out all the hurt, fear, upset and anger that was running through her veins.

"I-I don't w-want to be h-here anymore Mum, c-can we p-please go home?"

"We can indeed sweetness, Mrs King has said you can have a few days off so that you can get some rest and they can deal with the people who did this,_ do_ they know who did this?" Jasmine purely nodded, not really wanting to relive anything she'd been through. "Alright honey, let's just put a cold paper towel on that swollen eye of yours," Gabriella momentarily let go of Jasmine to wet a paper towel, before quickly handing it to Jasmine who gingerly held it to her eye, while Gabriella picked up her bag from the toilet floor.

"Do we need to go and get anything out of your locker sweetheart?" Jasmine shook her head and pointed to her school bag that Gabriella had slung over her shoulder.

"It's all in there, I don't leave stuff in my locker."

"Alrighty then, let's get you out of here," Gabriella wrapped her daughter back up in her arms and led her out of the bathrooms and then swiftly out of the school. She could sense from the way Jasmine relaxed as soon as they left the school, that what had happened wasn't just a one time thing.

**TGTGTGTG**

Troy Bolton was one very unhappy man.

He'd had a very long, stressful, short staffed day at work and all he wanted to do was go home, shower and spend some relaxed time with his family, apparently that wasn't going to happen…quite yet.

He'd finished his shift, half an hour late, to find two voicemails and three text messages from his wife telling him to call her _before_ he came home. So he had, called her before he went home, only to be informed that his daughter was in a pretty bad way after being set upon at school today. Gabriella hadn't wanted to tell him over the phone, but she wanted him to know what had happened before he got home, so that her telling him didn't upset Jasmine even more.

He listen calmly as his wife told him what had taken place, how she'd had to coax Jasmine out of the toilet cubicle and the injuries she'd sustained. He'd even stayed calm when she told him her suspicions on this whole thing seeming to be more than it looked and had agreed with her, that tomorrow they would both talk to Jasmine about what was happening at school, but for now Troy just wanted to get home and make sure that his baby girl was okay.

He walked into his home at half past eight to find his whole family in the living room. Maria sat on one part of the couch with her Grandsons, Mitchell was lying next to her on the couch, her hand rubbing his stomach slowly lulling him to sleep, while Michael was being held by her other arm as he slept. Gabriella and Jasmine were sat on the other part of the 'L' shaped couch, Jasmine was lying with her head resting on Gabriella's lap, her body turned towards her with Rosie cuddled to her chest, as Gabriella soothingly ran her hands through her hair. Troy smiled towards Maria, who sent him one back, before swiftly moving towards his girls.

"Hey beautiful," Troy propped himself up with his right arm against the back of the couch, as he greeted Gabriella with a kiss on the forehead, the movement causing Jasmine to roll onto her other side to greet Troy as he knelt down beside the couch.

"Hey Princess, I hear you've had a pretty rough day." Troy gently ran his fingers over Jasmine's bruised eye and then leaned down to softly kiss it.

"Yeah, they really hurt me Dad."

"So I can see, have you got a headache at all?" Troy knew Gabriella would've taken care of Jasmine when she brought her home, but he couldn't help his doctoring instincts kicking, in, especially when it came to his daughter.

Jasmine smiled softly, knowing what her Dad was up to. "I'm fine Dad, Mum put a wet paper towel on my eye before we left school and then as soon as we got home she made me sit down with ice on it for half an hour and I _did_ have a headache, but she gave me painkillers as well, so I can barely feel it now. Mum does know how to look after me Dad, it's one of the things she's best at."

"I know I'm sorry sweetheart, I can't help it, I know your Mum knows how to look after you I never doubted that one bit. So you're okay then, I don't need to worry?"

"No Dad, there's no need to worry I'm fine, you're not though, you kinda stink, you need a shower."

"Thanks Jazzy I love you too, can I at least ay hi to Grandma and the boys first?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I guess, but if they tell you that you smell, don't say that I didn't warn you." Troy decided to take the risk and went to greet them anyway, He kissed Maria on the cheek in greeting and then picked up each of his boys in turn, kissing them on their foreheads before placing them both soundly in their bassinette to continue their sleep.

**TGTGTGTG**

Jasmine couldn't sleep, she had so much running through her head that there was no way she could just close her eyes and fall asleep, despite feeling completely exhausted, this was gonna be one restless night.

She'd told Troy and Gabriella what had taken place today and how she'd received those injuries, but she hadn't told them the complete truth, the_ whole_ story.

But you see, the complete truth would hurt, it would hurt them all, but down deep down in her heart Jasmine knew that the truth needed to be told and that sometimes, it had to hurt for things to get better.

"I've got to tell them Rosie," she told the bear, as she lay on her back with Rosie sat on her chest. "It's gonna be hard, but it hurts too much to keep it inside." She reached up to wipe away the tears that were trickling down her cheeks. "They _have_ to know the truth, they _have_ to know _why_ I can't go back to _that _school, _ever_."

**TGTGTGTG**

**There it is people, I'm not really ****feeling it, but then again it's not up to me, what do you think? **

**It's taken me way longer to post than I would've liked, but life happens, I'm not gonna apologies for that.**

**It's up to you if it continues so:**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU! **


	2. The Truth

**A/N: I don't own anything…except the plot!**

**So, those of you who reviewed wanted me to continue and so I will. But I'm warning you now, when I write I don't write in one big go and I don't necessarily write every single day, that's why things sometimes take so long to get out. I also have absolutely no idea what Jasmine is about to say to Troy and Gabriella, so if I write something half decent, then send a round of applause my way please :)**

**Anyway, just let me think of a title…hmmm…got one! Now let's commence the chapter…enjoy!**

The Truth

"Yeah…okay, thanks Joe…yeah speak to you soon…bye."

"What did he say?" Troy has just phoned his boss to ask for some much needed time off, he'd had a few days when the twins were born, but now he felt like he needed more, he needed to be with his family.

"He said that I should take as much time as I need because I'm owed a lot anyway and that I shouldn't worry about them being short staffed because of it, as you guys are way more important than that, and you are Brie. We're gonna get through this, we're gonna get everything back on track before I even think about going back to work." Gabriella sighed as Troy took her into his arms, she'd had a hard time sleeping last between worrying about Jasmine and the boys waking up to be fed or changed, she hadn't had much time to sleep and when she finally did manage to, it was restless and really worrying for Troy.

"Listen, the boys are asleep again and the school knows that Jazzy won't be in today, why don't we just go back to bed for a bit?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I can't sleep Troy, I want to but I just can't," Troy could hear the frustration in his wife's voice, but knew there wasn't really much he could do to help.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I know how tired you are, but why don't we just go and lay down for a while? You might even fall asleep, but if you don't then at least you're resting rather than trying to do housework, that can wait." Gabriella smiled from against Troy's chest and lifted her head to look him in the eye.

"Carry me?" Troy chuckled at Gabriella's request, but still did as she'd asked, picking her up as if she were a child, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder and place a kiss to his neck, which Troy returned to her shoulder, as he started up the stairs.

They reached the top of the stairs to find Jasmine poking her head out of her bedroom door, a look of worry etched all over her face.

"Hey sweetheart, you okay?" Troy asked, as he came to a stop outside Jasmine's room, putting Gabriella down but still keeping his arms wrapped round her.

"Erm no, not really…can I talk to you both?" Troy watched as his daughter's eyes became watery and knew that this wasn't a conversation that could be put off.

"Yeah, let's go to our room so that we can keep an eye on the boys," Troy held out an arm to Jasmine, who briefly disappeared back into her room, before re-emerging with Rosie and cuddling into Troy's left side, like Gabriella was his right and allowing him to lead them to the main bedroom.

**TGTGTGTG**

Jasmine wasn't sure she wanted to do this anymore; she was scared about what her parents would say and worried about whether it was even the right thing to do in the first place. She was cuddle up with Troy and Gabriella in their bed, they had put the pillows against the headboard and had the duvet pulled up to their waists. Troy had put himself in the middle, saying he wanted to be able to hug his girls equally and so had his arms wrapped around their shoulders.

"Okay Jazzy, we're all ears talk to us."

"I-I can't Dad, it's not that simple, I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Sweetheart you're not going to hurt anyone."

"But I am Dad, it's gonna hurt me and you two and I don't wanna hurt anyone."

"Why's it gonna hurt us sweetie?" Gabriella asked, as she sat up so she could see Jasmine round Troy, there was no way she was going to sleep now.

"'Cause…It's gonna hurt because I've been hiding something big and it's gonna make you guys feel bad for not knowing." Jasmine sniffled as a few tears escaped the confines of her eyes.

"Sweetheart, please just tell us, I promise you, you'll feel so much better for it afterwards," Troy said, as he took his arm away from Gabriella to wipe away Jasmine tears, before reaching back to hold Gabriella's hand.

Jasmine nodded and took some deep breaths, before turning to look her parents in the eye.

"What happened yesterday, it's not the first time something like that has happened, it was just the time that I've flipped because I've had enough of it all and…I don't care what you say, but I'm not going back to_ that_ school anymore…I just can't."

"Alright, we're listening, can you tell us everything?" Jasmine nodded at Troy and swiped at her falling tears.

"I don't wanna talk about all the little incidents, there's too many of them to remember and they happened so often that they've all kinda started to merge together. The easiest way to explain it is that I'm the one that everyone picks on, I'm the butt of everyone's jokes, I'm the one who everyone takes advantage of, basically I'm probably the most hated pupil, maybe even person in the school. The boys never do anything physical, they just shout and laugh and the teachers tell 'em off when they hear, but it's the girls who cause the most damage. They…they hurt me, they taunt me and laugh at me and then they hurt me. They throw things at me in the changing rooms, after PE…they throw things at me and then they push me so I'm on the ground, then they hit me and kick me and…they whip me, I don't know what with, their belts I think, I don't look at them, they'll only see the tears and hurt me more. I tried to fight back at first, hurt a few of them at times, but there was always more of them and they started to hold me down, so that I couldn't fight back, they don't do that anymore though, I don't even attempt to fight back now. My back's pretty messed up now, that's where they whip me, I've looked at it a few times in the mirror, it's all torn up and horrible looking." Jasmine took a deep breath and wiped away the silent tears that had been falling. "That's it, that's everything, I'm sorry."

"Can…can we see your back?" Troy didn't know how to react to what his daughter had just said, but he needed to see what these monsters had done to her.

"Yeah, just…just don't touch it," Jasmine moved out from under Troy's arm, so that she was sitting on the side of the bed and cuddled Rosie tightly to her chest as Troy lifted the back of her top.

Gabriella couldn't help the sharp intake of breath that she took when she saw the sight of Jasmine's back. It was covered in lines, at all different angles and of all different sizes. They were all over her back and some were clearly older than others, but the ones that caught her attention were the ones at the bottom of Jazzy's back. They were red raw, like they were recent and a couple of them looked as though they had been bleeding, Gabriella had no idea how Jasmine had tolerated the pain without letting it slip at all.

"Angel, does it hurt? These ones on your lower back look really sore."

"I guess…only a little though, I've learnt to block it out," Jasmine shrugged her shoulders to make Troy put her top back down.

"Jazzy, when you came home slamming the doors the other day, had they hurt you that day?" Gabriella was starting to understand Jasmine's recent behaviour.

Jasmine nodded. "That's where the ones on the bottom of my back come from."

"That's why you made me leave the bathroom when you changed?" Jasmine nodded silently, unable to find her voice.

Troy couldn't take it anymore, Jasmine was sitting with her back to them, crying and that broke his heart, he needed to have his clearly broken daughter in his arms.

"Jazzy sweetheart, come here please," Turning round Jasmine found Troy with his arms open to give her a hug and Gabriella holding the covers up for her to climb under. She crawled over to them and for the first time in a long time, settled herself in Troy's lap and buried her face into the crook of his neck, just as the flood gates opened, allowing her to cry out every single one of her emotions, allowing her to cry harder than she every thought she could.

Troy simply held his daughter as she sobbed against him; he was at a loss of what else he could do. His daughter, his angel, his baby girl had been tormented and hurt and scarred for what seemed to be no good reason at all.

As Jasmine's sobs lessened and her breathing started to regulate, Troy took one arm from around her and wrapped it round Gabriella to bring her into their hug, they _needed_ to get through this as a family, they _had_ to.

Gabriella gently took Jasmine's hand away from its tight grip of Troy's t-shirt and simply held it in between her hands, softly running her thumb back and forth over her knuckles.

"Jasmine honey, why do they do this to you? Have you ever done anything to provoke them _at all_?"

Jasmine shook her head. "No D-dad, n-never."

"Then why you sweetheart?"

"I…I d-don't know," Jasmine was shaking from her crying and Troy pulled the duvet up so that it was wrapped around Jasmine's shoulders. "I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to h-hurt you b-both."

"Jasmine look at me," Troy's voice was stern and scared Jasmine as she turned to look at him. "Don't you dare apologise about this, none of it is your fault and I promise you that you will _never_ have to go back to that school, _ever._ Me and your Mum aren't really hurt sweetheart, just upset that we weren't able to pick up on the pain and suffering that you have been going through. We're gonna make this all better sweetie, we're gonna take care of you and put that sparkle back in your eyes, but right now I need you to do something really brave for me, can you do that?" Jasmine nodded and allowed Gabriella to wipe away her tears.

"We're not going to contact the school about this, they clearly have no idea how to handle these things, seeing as they've let things get this far, but we have to do something about it, I think we need to phone the police."

"N-no Dad, I c-can't."

"Jazzy, sweetheart, there is no way we can just let this go, they've seriously hurt you and they deserve to be punished for that."

"I'm scared." 

"I know you are angel, but your Mum and I will be with you the entire time, I swear. You just need to tell them exactly what you just told us and let them take some pictures of your back for evidence, then we'll give those wounds a good old clean for you and give you something to take away the pain. Do you know the names of all the people who did this to you? Was it always the same people?"

"Yeah, I know their names; they were always the same ones who hurt me." Troy nodded and picked up the phone on the bedside table to call the police, this was the start of a very long process, but it was a process Troy was determined to win.

**TGTGTGTG**

She couldn't stay in the room any longer; she just couldn't bare to see her daughter in that much pain. The police had been amazing with Jasmine, they'd been gentle and calm with her as they'd spoken and had constantly reassured her that they were going to get this sorted. They took pictures of her back and told Troy and Gabriella to take her to a doctor in the next couple of days, just to make sure there was no underlying infection.

Jasmine had been incredibly brave throughout the whole thing and had kept her emotions in check, but let a few tears fall when the photos were taken, she was clearly in a lot of pain with her injuries. But it was when Troy was showing the police out, that Jasmine let her shields down and finally allowed the tears to fall. Gabriella immediately wrapped her in a hug and gently rocked them from side to side, biting her lip to stop her own emotions from taking over. Troy had come back into the room and taken them both into his arms, rocking them all and shushing Jasmine's agonizing cries, that's when Gabriella had, had to leave.

She'd first gone into the dining room to check on the boys, they were both sleeping peacefully, but that didn't stop her from simply staring at them for a minutes, something she'd decided she could easily do all day. Now though, she was in the kitchen, just pottering about, cleaning around the work tops, emptying and then re-loading the dishwasher.

"There you are, we wondered where you'd hurried off to," Gabriella turned round from her staring out the window to find Troy leaning against the doorway connecting the dining room and kitchen.

"Sorry, I just needed some space for a bit; it's horrible to see her in that state."

"I know it is," Troy agreed, as he walked over to Gabriella and pulled her into a hug. "She's gone to wash her face now though; she says she's got some things she wants to give to the boys."

"That sounds mysterious, does she want us to have the boys in there, 'cause they're asleep right now."

"Nope," Troy answered, as he bent down to snatch a kiss from Gabriella. "She said she wants to show us and then give them to the boys when they wake up, she said, they'll appreciate them more as they grow up."

"Mkay," Gabriella replied, as she enjoyed her time being wrapped up in Troy's arms.

"Erm, can I show you guys now?" The couple broke apart a few minutes later to find Jasmine standing in the kitchen doorway with a blue paper bag hugged secretively to her chest. "Are you alright Mum?"

"Yeah Jaz I'm fine, this whole situation is just a bit overwhelming that's all, I just needed some space and a hug," Jasmine smiled hearing that, her Dad's hug seemed to make everything better right now. "Shall we go back to the lounge?"

"We shall indeed my dears," Troy responded. "Shall we skip?" He didn't wait for an answer and started his skip regardless leaving his wife and daughter laughing in his wake.

"No Dad, just no!" Jasmine told him, as she and Gabriella walked into the lounge and plopped down onto the couch, Troy and Gabriella sandwiching Jasmine in.

"Grandma took me to buy these the day you had the boys, she said, they didn't have anything like this yet and that if it came from me it would be all the more special. I choose them because they kinda remind me of Rosie, I had her from when I was a baby and I hope they keep these as long as I have." With that said Jasmine opened the bag and pulled out two light blue teddy bears. They were cuddly and soft, exactly like Rosie and were pretty much alike, apart from the special touch Jasmine had, had added. On the left side of one bear, over it's heart, the word 'Mitchell' had been professionally stitched in and on the other, the word 'Michael'.

"Sweetheart, they're lovely," Gabriella complimented, as she picked up one bear and Troy picked up the other.

"I was gonna show them to you a couple of days after you brought them home, once they were kinda settled in and stuff, but then things started getting tough at school and then I started to worry that you had bears for them anyway, so I didn't bother, but they might as well have them, it's not like I can give them away, they've got their names on them."

"They really are lovely Jaz," Troy said, as he wrapped his arms round his girls. "Listen, I know things are incredibly crazy right now and they're probably gonna be that way for a little while longer, but I promise you both that things will get better. I'm not gonna go back to work until the boys are properly settled with a good routine and you, young lady, are settled in a new school. This is gonna be a fresh start for us, I think it's something all of us need, but there are some rules. We've gotta be honest with each other, say something when you need help or you feel ill or you're struggling with something and we'll work through it together. We're gonna spend some time bonding with each other, especially you with the boys Jaz, they'll need their big sister, so maybe you can help us with them, give them their bathes, soothe them to sleep, feed them sometimes and maybe even change them, they need their big sister, honey."

"I know, I think I'm ready for the challenge." Gabriella laughed and placed her teddy back in the bag like Troy.

"So what do you say we start our bonding tomorrow and go shopping, leave your Dad in charge of the boys?" Jasmine nodded eagerly, happy to be doing something girly with Gabriella.

"Don't give me that look Troy Bolton, they're your sons, I went through eight hours of pain to have them, the least you can do is take care of them for the day."

"Yeah Dad," Jazzy joined in on the teasing. "It's called _bonding!_"

**TGTGTGTG**

**There it is people, not very long, but deal with it; it's a very deep chapter.**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!**


	3. Bonding Time

**Thanks for the lovely reviews people, I love ya all!**

**I have no idea where this story is heading; I don't even know what I'm going to write in this chapter, so ideas, realistic ones, are most definitely welcome.**

**Any who… I don't own anything apart from the story line…enjoy!**

Bonding Time

"Alright ladies, make sure you have a good time today," Troy told his wife and daughter, as he walked with them down the drive to Maria's car, baby monitor firmly in his grasp.

"Don't worry Dad, we will, I'm really looking forward to creating a new me." Over dinner last night, Jasmine had asked Troy and Gabriella if she could have her restyled, she said she wanted this to be a new start in her life. It didn't take long for them to agree and as soon as she woke up this morning, Gabriella managed to get them both an appointment at their hair dressers; she also needed her hair cutting after it grew so much during the pregnancy. After making that call, she'd put a call into Maria to see if she wanted to come with them for the day, have real proper girly day out after the hair dressers, Maria agreed and said she'd pick them up at ten.

"And I'm sure the new you will look amazing sweetheart, just don't change too much, I still want to recognize you when you come back later on."

"I won't Dad, just enough for me to feel like a new person," Jasmine smiled happily at Troy, before giving him a hug goodbye and then getting in the back of Maria's car to greet her, ready for their day.

"Take it easy today babe," Troy told Gabriella, as he turned to her and pulled her into a hug. "You still haven't had a decent night's sleep and it'll catch up on you quicker than you think, especially while you're walking round shopping."

"I know Troy, I'll be careful, Mum and Jazzy wouldn't let me over work myself anyway," Gabriella told Troy, as she leaned up to give him a kiss before getting in the passenger's seat of Maria's car.

"Hey Mum," Troy greeted, as he leant in through Gabriella's open window.

"Hey sweetie, you and the boys got any big plans today?"

"Yup…housework, well I will be, the boys will be sleeping, crying, pooping, weeing, eating and whatever else it is three week old babies do."

"Sounds like so much fun Troy," Maria told him in a laugh, which Troy was about to respond to until crying sounded through the baby monitor.

"I guess that's my cue to let you guys leave, have a good time," Troy gave Gabriella another quick kiss and blew one to Jasmine, before jogging back up the drive way to the boys.

**TGTGTGTG**

"Jazzy, sweetheart, stop playing with your hair, it looks fine."

"I'm sorry Mum, it's just so new and different, I'm not used to it like this," The three ladies were now sat eating their lunch, but Jasmine was more interested in running her fingers through her new side fringe, which along with her new side parting made up her new hair do.

"I know sweetie but you will, just leave it for now and eat your lunch before it goes cold." Jasmine did her best to tuck her fringe behind her ear, before tucking back into her omelette and chips.

Twenty minutes later, the food was eaten, the bill was paid and the ladies were once again wondering around the mall. They walked in and out of a couple of shops until a certain one caught Jasmine's eye.

"Hey Mum?"

"Yeah honey?"

"Can I get my ears pierced?" This question stopped Gabriella dead in her tracks; she and Maria carried on walking, unaware of the fact Jasmine had stopped.

"Erm…I don't know sweetie," Gabriella answered, as she and Maria walked back to where Jasmine was standing. "Let me just phone your Dad and see what he says."

"No, please don't, I want it to be a surprise, I'll tell him it was all my idea if he doesn't like them, please Mum?"

"Come on Gabi, you know you want to say yes, I'll pay for her to have it done if you say yes."

"Mum I can't ask you to do that."

"Yes honey, you can, all you need to do is say yes, you had your ears done when you were around Jazzy's age."

"Okay, fine yes, you can get your ears pierced and if you really want to pay for it Mum, then that would be lovely, right Jaz?"

Jasmine nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah that's really kind of you, thank you Grandma, can I have them done now?"

"Sure thing sweetheart, lets go."

**TGTGTGTG**

The house was quiet when Gabriella, Jasmine and Maria arrived back at the Bolton household late in the afternoon.

"I wonder where they are," Gabriella said, as she and Maria walked through to the kitchen where they put down the Chinese take away they'd picked up on the way home.

"They're not in the lounge," Jasmine commented, as she came through to the kitchen after putting her shopping bags in the lounge.

"Well I'm gonna go and see if they're upstairs," Gabriella said, as she put her bag down on the countertop. "You guys take this through to the dining room and get some plates and glasses out." Maria and Jasmine nodded, as Gabriella headed towards the stairs.

Briefly she stuck her head into the nursery, wondering if Troy had put the boys in their cots for a bit and hadn't heard them come home, but they weren't in there, so she carried on along the corridor to her and Troy's room.

Opening the door she was met with a sight that made tears come to her eyes, there lying on the bed were her boys. Troy was lying on his back with Michael and Mitchell laying on their fronts on his chests, with their Dad's hands lying protectively on their backs. Gabriella reached up to wipe away a few tears that had fallen, before pulling her phone out of her pocket and snapping a couple of pics, this was one photo opportunity she was not going to miss.

She really didn't want to wake them up, but she knew that Troy needed to come and eat, knowing him, he'd just been snacking all day and hadn't had a proper meal. Quietly, she walked round to the right side of the bed and kneeling on it gently, managed to pry Michael from Troy's protective grasp.

Turning round from putting Michael in the bassinette, Gabriella found Troy starting to wake up, seemingly missing one of the tiny weights on his chest.

"Hey, it's okay," She told him, as she moved back towards the bed and sat down next to him. "I just took Michael and put him in the bassinette, let me take Mitchell as well." Troy looked slightly confused, seeing as he was still waking up, but still handed Mitchell to Gabriella, watching her as she settled him next to his brother and then kissed their foreheads, as she covered them up.

"Brie? Why are you home? What time is it?" Troy asked, as he stood up to stretch and straighten out his wrinkled clothes.

"Its six o'clock honey, we just got home and we brought Chinese, what time do you fall asleep?" Troy shrugged, as he pulled Gabriella into a hug.

"I wasn't meant to fall asleep, they were just being all whiney and I know they like falling asleep listening to your heartbeat, so that's what I tried, apparently I fell asleep as well, I think that was about three thirty. I'm not sure how I would've moved them off of me anyway, so I guess it's all good, I'm hungry now though, I've kinda only snacked all day, did you say there's Chinese?"

"Yup, it's Mum's treat, so let's go; you need to come meet the new Jazzy." Troy bent down to steal a quick kiss, before allowing Gabriella to lead him downstairs.

**TGTGTGTG**

Jasmine intentionally ignored Troy when he and Gabriella came downstairs; she wasn't scared of his reaction, more worried at what he would say.

"There you are," Troy said, as he appeared in the kitchen/dining room doorway. "Let's have a look at you then." Jasmine slowly turned round from pouring herself a drink to look at Troy.

"You got your ears pierced," Was the first thing Troy picked up on and Jasmine knew they need to clear that subject before things went any further.

"Yeah, is that okay?"

"Yeah of course it is honey, I'm just a little shocked that's all, I didn't think you'd want to have them done just yet."

"Well, I had my hair changed and my eye brows shaped, so I figured why not go all the way, Grandma helped me convince Mum to say yes and then she paid for me to have it done, do you like them?" Troy moved closer to Jasmine to have a proper look at the silver studs that now adorned her ear lobes.

"I love them sweetheart, they suit you, just like your hair and eye brows, you look beautiful honey, absolutely beautiful."

Jasmine smiled up at Troy, as he pulled her into a hug. "Thank Dad, thank you so much," She hugged Troy tightly and he squeezed her back for a few moment until his stomach started complaining.

"Sorry sweetie, I haven't eaten much all day and I can smell the Chinese."

"It's fine Dad, do you want a coke?" Jasmine asked, gesturing to the drink she'd been pouring herself.

"Yeah honey that'd be great," Troy leaned against the island, as Jasmine finished pouring the drinks and then took one when she offered it to him.

"If you two don't hurry up, we're gonna eat it all," Gabriella warned from the dining room, making Jasmine and Troy laugh, but still quickly make their way through to join the others.

**TGTGTGTG**

Jasmine sat quietly in her room, as she listened to the noises that were made during the boys' bath time. When she burped Michael earlier, he had decided that he would throw up on her and so she'd handed him back to Troy and gone upstairs to have a shower, she was supposed to bonding with them and all they did was throw up on her or cry, things weren't going well.

She wanted so badly to be able to bond with her brothers, she loved them like no one would ever believe, she was just having a hard time in showing that. She knew giving Troy and Gabriella the bears to give to the boys was the first step, but in order to bond with them, she needed to spend time with them, be more hands on.

She let a few tears slip from her eyes, as she heard her family walk past her room, knowing bath time must now done and Troy and Gabriella were taking the boys back to their room to dry and change them. Taking a deep breath, Jasmine wiped away her tears and stood from her bed before slowly making her way to her parent's room.

Troy was the first to notice her leaning against their bedroom and gave her a smile, until he noticed the tear tracks on her cheeks and the unshed tears in her eyes.

"Jazzy sweetheart, what's the matter?" Troy asked, as he put down the baby grow he was about to put on Mitchell and made his way towards her.

Jasmine shrugged, but still allowed a concerned Troy to pull her into a hug. "It must be something honey, come on, talk to me."

"They hate me."

"Oh Jazzy, they don't hate you, they're only three weeks old, they just don't understand what's going on around them yet, as they get older things will become easier, I promise."

"How do you know that?" Jasmine asked, as she wiped away her tears and took some deep breaths to stop her from crying.

"Because I felt exactly the same way when you were born, you would always cry and throw up on me and you always screamed at me when I tried to give you a bath, but we're here now because things got easier. As you got older, you slept more at night, so I got more sleep and I started to learn how to make clothing you and bathing you, less stressful for the both of us, it just took time, just like it will with the boys, that's how I know things will get easier." Troy told Jasmine, as he placed some kisses into her hair.

"He's right you know sweetheart," Gabriella told Jasmine, as she came over and took her from Troy's arms, who in turn went to tend to a fussing Mitchell. "The night we brought these guys home and we finally got to bed, your Dad gave me a hug and I broke down, I was so scared, that I wouldn't be able to cope with looking after them, but he reassured me, just like he just did you, because he's done it all before and because you turned out just fine so I think he knows what he's talking about," Jasmine laughed softly and nodded her head, as she sniffed back her threatening tears.

"So here's what's gonna happen now, I'm gonna take Michael downstairs and feed and burp him and maybe if he needs it change him, while you are gonna help your Dad get Mitchell dressed and then when you bring him down to me so I can feed him you can give Michael a hug while a goes off to sleep and then we'll repeat the process with Mitchell, do you think you can manage that?" Jasmine nodded and watched, as Gabriella picked up Michael and left the room, before slowly making her way over to Troy, who was kneeling on the floor, facing the bed, as he played with Mitchell's feet, making the small boy squirm.

"Look who it is Mitchell, it's your big sister, Jazzy, who loves you _very very_ much," Troy told his son, who turned his head to look at Jasmine as she knelt down next to Troy. "You haven't dressed one of them yet, have you?" Jasmine shock her head, as she picked up the baby grow.

"Come on then Mister Experience, teach me."

**TGTGTGTG**

"You're a natural Jaz, they are both out for the count," Jasmine smiled happily at her parents, as they both walked back into the room and flopped down onto the couch next to her.

"Mitchell still cried at me though Mum."

"He was really tired though honey, but you settled him down by yourself with just _a bit_ of assurance from me, you did good honey."

"I guess, at least I didn't get thrown up on, right Dad?"

"_That_ was not my fault, he threw up on me on purpose, I did not provoke him."

"We're not saying you provoked him babe, what we're saying is that the next time you burp Michael, make sure you put a burping rag on your shoulder, just like you do with Mitchell, otherwise he's gonna do it all over again."

"Okay, okay I get it, you can stop ganging up on me now…does anyone want a drink or something to eat? If you're gonna make me watch this crap, then I need something to snack on."

"Oh, coke and popcorn pwease Daddy." Jasmine asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes as she did.

"Brie?" Troy asked, as he got up, throwing a cushion at Jasmine in the process, although she caught it and threw it straight back.

"Same please." Troy nodded, before heading through to the kitchen, while the girls cuddled up to watch their favourite reality nonsense on the telly.

An hour or so later and the programme, food and drinks were finished and it was time to get serious.

"Jazzy, can you come sit in the middle of us a minute, there's some things we need to talk about." Jasmine looked at her Dad unsurely, but still moved to sit in the middle of her parents, cuddling into Gabriella, as Troy wrapped his arms round them both.

"Tomorrow we're gonna have a lazy day, have breakfast in bed, not get dressed unless completely necessary, just be plain out lazy bums, that alright with you?" Jasmine nodded at Troy, unsure of where he was heading with this. "On Monday, we're not gonna make you go to school, you're not going back there Jaz and that's the end of it, but you can't not go to school at all, so we need to find you another school and soon-ish so that you don't miss out on much."

"I don't want to Dad, they'll just pick on me like the others do."

"No sweetheart, they won't," Gabriella worked to reassure Jasmine, as she pulled her further against her and felt Troy tighten his arms around them. "They won't pick on you because you won't let them, this is a new you remember and the new you is gonna stick up for herself a bit more, make some new friends and _if _they do start to pick on you, and that's a big _if, _then you will tell someone straight away and it will be dealt with, alright? And you make sure you tell us what's going on as well honey, especially all the good things, you hearing me here?" Jasmine nodded and reached up to wipe away her tears.

"So, you know how right now you go to East Valley Middle and when you move to High School you'd go to Easy Valley High, right?" Jasmine nodded so Troy continued. "Well, on Monday I'm gonna phone East Albuquerque Middle School and see if they've gonna any spaces and if they have I'm gonna ask them if they'll accept you, the only thing would be that you would then move onto East High, where your Mum works and by the time you move up, she'll probably be back from leave, so would you be okay going to a school as a pupil where she teaches?" When it came to sorting out school for Jasmine, she'd been sent to East Valley because at the time it was nearer for Troy and Gabriella to commute her there as they went to college, but as time moved on, she stayed there because they didn't want her to end up going to a school where Gabriella was teaching, but now none of that mattered, what mattered, was Jasmine's happiness.

"I'm okay with that Dad, we'll work things out, right Mum?"

"Definitely sweetie," Gabriella responded with a kiss to Jasmine's temple.

"But…what if they don't have any places? I'm not going back to East Valley Dad," Jasmine started to get worked up again at the thought of having no choice back going back to her current, soon-to-be old school.

"Jasmine, you will_ not_ be going back to that school as a pupil _ever, ever again._ If you don't get a place at East Albuquerque, then I'm not sure what we'll do _yet,_ but we'll work it out, so no worrying, alright?" Jasmine nodded and allowed Troy to cup her face in his hands while he wiped away her tear tracks and placed butterfly kisses on her forehead.

"Alrighty then, you two can choose what crap we watch, but only because I wove you both." Gabriella and Jasmine laughed at Troy's sweet voice, as Gabriella reached for the remote to change the channel.

"We love you too Dad."

**TGTGTGTG**

**Alrighty, strange ending, but oh well, deal with it.**

**I don't know how the American Schooling system works, so I'm sorry if it's not exactly right, but for this story, you're just gonna have to deal with it :p**

**These keep taking me to long to get out and I'm sorry for that, but I'm seriously struggling to write them, so logical ideas may be helpful. **

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU! **


	4. A Fresh Start

**A/N: I don't own anything…except the plot line****.**

A Fresh Start

Jasmine came down the stairs the next day, sometime only slightly before midday, to find the rest of her family in the lounge. She waved to Gabriella because Troy was on the phone, before heading through to the kitchen to grab a glass of juice and then headed back through to the lounge and plopped down onto the couch next to Gabriella.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Gabriella greeted quietly, just as Troy finished his phone call.

"And she's awake," Troy said in a laugh, as he threw the house phone onto the coffee table and moved along the couch so that Jasmine was sandwiched between him and Gabriella.

"Yeah, yeah, morning guys," Jasmine greeted her parents, who simply laughed, before hugging her good morning…just.

"So who was on the phone Dad?" Jasmine asked, as she put her finished glass of juice on the coffee table.

"It was a member of staff from the office at East Albuquerque Middle School; I told her your situation and she said she'd see what she could do. She just phoned me back and said that the head teacher would be happy to meet with us tomorrow to discuss you maybe starting there on Wednesday, are you alright with that?"

"I guess so, is Mum coming?" Jasmine asked, as she cuddled into Troy's offered embrace.

"Yeah, we're all going, Grandma's got a meeting so she can't look after the boys, but they said it's fine to take them, the lady I spoke to said the head teacher hasn't been back long from maternity leave herself, so she understands more than most at the minute, alright?"

Jasmine nodded. "That alright with you Mum?"

"Of course it is sweetie. It'll all be alright honey, I promise you," Gabriella said, as she pulled Jasmine to her, allowing Troy to wrap his arms round them both.

"Why don't you go and get dressed, while I make you some breakfast, which will be our lunch, so I guess it's your brunch?" Troy asked.

"Sounds good, can I have spaghetti hoops on toast?"

"I don't see why not, I reckon that the boys will be awake by then as well, you might get a hug with them awake if you're lucky, you haven't had many of them yet." Jasmine smiled, her cheeky Bolton smile, before kissing both her parents on the cheek and running upstairs to get changed.

**TGTGTGTG**

Jasmine's nerves were obvious, as they followed the secretary along the corridor to the head teacher's office. Gabriella had a comforting arm wrapped around her, while Troy was carrying Michael and Mitchell as they slept in the car seats. She'd barely said a word to anyone all day; she was only just about in this world, as was obvious when she was sat down in a chair and didn't even realise it.

"Jazzy sweetheart, Mrs Wilson was talking to you," Jasmine blinked back to reality to see that her hopefully new head teacher was indeed looking her way.

"Sorry," She blushed as she apologised, not wanting to seem rude.

"Its fine Jasmine, I can tell you're nervous, but there's no need to be, we really are all quite nice here. Alright, so before we get down to business, we need to get the introductions out of the way, but there's a catch. You have to do the talking, you're the one that's going to be coming to school here, not your Mum and Dad, so it's you I want to get to know, is that alright with you?" Jasmine nodded with a small smile, but still tightened her grip on Gabriella's hand. "Alright then, my name is Lorna Wilson and this is my forth year here as head teacher, fifth if you include my last year off for maternity leave." Lorna finished and gestured for Jasmine to begin.

"My name is Jasmine Bolton, my Dad's name is Troy and my Mum is called Gabriella."

"And what about those two cuties over there?" Lorna asked, gesturing off to the side of her office, where the twins were still sleeping peacefully.

"The one on the left is Michael and the other is Mitchell, they're my little brothers and they're…three weeks old now." Mrs Wilson nodded her understanding before shifting through some papers in front of her.

"Now young lady, I understand that you've had a bit of a tough time at your old school and that coming here would be a new start for you?" Jasmine nodded and felt Gabriella squeeze her hand in support. "Well we would be happy to have you here and luckily have enough room for you in our seventh grade classes, your grades look amazing and I'm sure you will be a fantastic member of our student body. So, if Mum and Dad agree then we'd be happy for you to start attending school here tomorrow." Jasmine nodded unsurely and looked to Troy for support.

"It's fine with us Jaz, as long as it's okay with you?" Jasmine shrugged tearfully and Gabriella pulled her into a hug. "Jasmine suffered some quite severe injuries over her time at her previous school," Troy told Mrs Wilson. "The black eye is the most obvious, but she has multiple lacerations on her back, which we do have to treat with a prescribed antibiotic cream daily. The doctor also advised that she doesn't do anything too physical, is there any way that could be worked round?"

"Most definitely, we want to make this as easy for Jasmine as it can be. We do ask that students take part in a gym class once a week for two hours, but Jasmine can be excused from that for a while, until she feels ready to take part again and there's no need to worry about the changing rooms, there's a member of staff right out side the door, they'll be able to hear straightaway if something is taking place that shouldn't be."

"Does that help at all Jaz?" Jasmine nodded at Troy's question, but didn't attempt to move from Gabriella's embrace and no body seemed to mind.

"I understand that you're having a tough time at the minute Jasmine and it's clear that being with your family is what you need, but I can also understand your Dad's concern about you not missing out on too much schooling. One thing that we've done with students before, who've been ill or have needed to be with family for whatever reason, is that we've offered them half days at school, so you would come in for the mornings and then you could go home at lunch time, but in the time you're in school we'll make sure that the main part of your studies is focused on the key subjects, like Maths, English and Science, does that sound like something we could put in place for you? It would give you a chance to be in school with people your own age in the mornings and then you would be able to rest at home in the afternoons with your family and we'll try not to give you too much work to take home."

"I like the sound of that, being in a school still scares me right now, would that be okay Dad?"

"If that's what you want sweetheart then we'll make it work, you should check with your Mum though, she'd be the one picking you up and such."

"Mum?" Jasmine asked, as she pulled back from their hug to look Gabriella in the eye.

"It's fine sweetie, we'll work it."

"If the school could work that for Jasmine, it would be great," Troy said to Mrs Wilson. "We've also looked in to Jasmine seeing a councillor, does the school have anything like that in place?"

"Our school nurse is a trained councillor and would happily speak to Jasmine when she's in school, although that would mean her being here longer, but I know of another lady who would happily visit Jasmine at home, somewhere she feels safe and may be happier talking things over."

"Home sounds good," Jasmine said softly, once again cuddled back in to Gabriella.

"Alrighty then, before you leave today I'll make sure to pass her information onto your Dad," Mrs Wilson was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a knock on the door and everyone turned to look to see who would come in.

"Ah, it's you Ellie; I was beginning to wonder where you'd gotten to."

"Yeah sorry Miss, I had to stop by my locker first." Ellie smiled politely at the Bolton family, as she entered the room and shut the door behind her; she looked to be about the same age as Jasmine, with long straight honey brown hair and hazel green eyes.

"Alright well you're here now; I'd say take a seat but there's none left."

"You can take mine," Troy said about to get up but Ellie stopped him.

"It's fine, I'll just move her great massive bag and then sit on this table here," Ellie made a show of moving Mrs King's handbag, before jumping up onto the table it had been sitting on, suddenly she froze. "Awwww, babies."

"That's very observant of you Ellie; don't you have two about the same age at your house anyway?"

"Yeah but still, babies." The Bolton's laughed at the banter between Mrs Wilson and Ellie and Jasmine sat up from Gabriella's hug to wipe at her few stray tears, but still reach back to hold her hand.

"Alright Miss Ellie, are you done obsessing over things you see everyday?" Ellie nodded and Mrs Wilson continued. "This young lady here is Jasmine and she's going to start attending here from tomorrow, just for the mornings. She's had a pretty tough time at her old school and when I heard about it, it really reminded me of you, so I was thinking you could show her around, be a friendly face for her and maybe introduce her to the others?"

"Yeah I can do that; it'll be nice to hang round with a girl for once."

"Well that's sorted then, everything will be in place for you to start here tomorrow Jasmine," Jasmine smiled brightly for the first time since arriving at this school, she's was actually looking forward to coming here, things were starting to look up.

**TGTGTGTG**

Late that evening, Troy and Gabriella were cuddled up on the couch watching the telly, knowing that the twins would wake up for another feed and nappy change before they let their parents try to get some sleep. They were silent, apart from the volume of the telly and so it wasn't hard for them to hear Jasmine coming down the stairs. The couple moved apart when Jasmine entered the room and she silently slid in between them, already crying.

"Don't cry Jaz, please sweetheart, you were asleep when I checked on you about half an hour ago, what woke you up?" As usual Gabriella had pulled Jasmine into her arms and Troy had wrapped them both up in his, he hated seeing either of them cry, especially when that's all that Jasmine seemed to be doing recently.

"I h-had a n-nightmare," Jasmine sniffled and gasped for her breath.

"What was it about sweetheart?" Troy asked, as he took Jasmine into his arms when Gabriella got up, he assumed to get something.

"The s-same as always, they were b-beating me up and t-then I hit my h-head and it all w-went black and then I w-woke up." Jasmine's tears were becoming more and more heavier as she spoke and she was finding it increasingly hard to breath.

"Alright sweetheart, you're alright, just calm down for me honey, just take some deep breaths Jaz please," Jasmine did as Troy had asked and her breathing began to slow down, "That's it sweetie, you're doing so well, shh angel, it's all okay, those people are never gonna hurt you ever again." Troy rocked Jasmine from side to side for a couple of minutes, calming her down, until Gabriella came back in with a mug of steaming hot liquid and a box of tissues.

"Here sweetheart, blow your nose and dry your eyes and then you can snuggle up in the corner of the couch, under a blanket, while me and your Dad tend to the boys," As if on cue the twins began to whine and Troy quickly got up to tend to them, while Gabriella helped Jasmine to get settled under the blanket.

A little over half an hour later, Gabriella was climbing into bed, as Troy silently walked into the room, not wanting to disturb the boys.

"That's the first time I've carried her to bed in a long time," Troy whispered to Gabriella, as he joined her in bed and she curled into his side.

"She's gonna be alright you know Troy, it's going to take time, but she'll be alright."

"I know, it's just she's my little girl Brie and it's so hard to watch her suffer and know that she's been suffering for so long and I didn't even notice, I'm her Dad, I'm supposed to notice these things." Troy pulled Gabriella closer and buried his face into her hair.

"It's not just you Troy, I didn't notice anything either, but there's nothing we can do about it anymore, we just have to support her now, as she moves onto better things, alright?" Troy felt Gabriella nod against her head and knew not to push him anymore tonight; instead, she leaned up and kissed him and then leant over him to turn off his bedside lamp, before cuddling back into him to sleep, something they all needed and she hoped they would get.

**TGTGTGTG**

Troy pulled the car to a stop outside the school and turned to look at Jasmine who was sat nervously in the passenger's seat.

"You are going to be absolutely fine sweetheart, just go in there and be you and before you know it me or your Mum will be back here to pick you up at lunch time. Look, Ellie is already waiting for you, everything is going to be fine, you want me to get out of the car with you?" Jasmine nodded silently and so Troy turned off the engine and got out of the car, walking round to her side to help her out, just as Ellie arrived next to them.

"Hey," She greeted Jasmine with a hug and then turned to Troy. "Hey Mr Bolton, how are you today?"

"I'm good thanks Ellie, how about you?"

"Yeah I'm pretty good thanks, happy that Jasmine is here so that I don't have to spend _all_ my time with those two spanners over there." Troy looked over to where Ellie was pointing and found two boys larking around. "We've always been best friends, but sometimes it's hard, they just don't understand girls."

"Looks like you need me then," Jasmine spoke up for the first time since getting out of the car.

Ellie laughed. "They're not that bad, I just get out numbered sometimes. So you ready to head in, I'll introduce you to the boys as well."

"Yeah, let's do this, I'll see you later Dad," Jasmine turned to give Troy a hug and he nicely hugged her back, not wanting to embarrass her in front of Ellie.

"Bye Mr Bolton," Ellie said, as she linked arms with Jasmine and began to drag her towards the school, where the boys were still messing about.

"Bye Ellie." Troy smiled as he watched the girls already laughing together and knew that Jasmine would fit in just fine.

"Oi boys, stop trying to kill each other will you; I wanna introduce you to someone." The two boys stopped their 'playing' and turned to look at the girls. "This is Jasmine, she's new here at East and is going to be joining us for the mornings for a while and then she'll become full time like us."

"Stick to the morning's for as long as possible," One boy said making Jasmine laugh, he has short blond hair and blue eyes, but not as blue as her Dad's. "I'm Will," he introduced, holding his hand out for Jasmine to shake.

"Nice to meet you," Jasmine replied, as she shook Will's hand.

"And this lump is Ethan," Ellie introduced, hitting Ethan round the back of the head as she did.

"What was that for?" Ethan asked as he rubbed his head, he had shaggy dark brown hair and amazing green eyes.

"For being very impolite." Ellie answer as she jutted her hip and folder her arms over her chest.

"Oh right sorry, it's nice to meet you Jasmine," Ethan said, offering his hand for Jasmine to shake.

"Nice to meet you to," Jasmine answered as they shook hands.

"I am normally more alert than this, it's just my Mum is ill so I've been looking after her and my little sister recently and sleep has been hard to find."

"Its fine, sleep's not exactly my friend either right now," Jasmine answered, earning her a sweet smile from Ethan.

"Alright people lets go, I need to show Jasmine where her locker is and take her to where she needs to be before class starts." The boys both stared at Ellie like she had a disease and they shouldn't be near her, but still followed her towards the building, Ethan hanging back to talk to Jasmine.

"I swear she's PMSing, she's not normally this moody," Ethan winked at her before jogging off and jumping on Will's back, leaving Jasmine laughing in his wake.

_I'm gonna like it here, I already like it here._

**TGTGTGTG**

When the front doors of East Albuquerque Middle school opened, Gabriella expected to see Jasmine and Ellie walk out, instead she saw Jasmine and a _boy._

"Hey Mum," Jasmine greeted happily, as she climbed into the car next to Gabriella and opened the window so that they could speak to Ethan. "Mum this is Ethan, Ethan this is my Mum Gabriella, Ellie needed to eat something before she passed out, so Will took her to lunch while Ethan came out here with me."

"That's very kind of you Ethan, thank you."

"It's no problem Mrs Bolton, when Ellie gets passionate about something, like taking Jasmine under her wing, she kinda forgets about everything else, so she hasn't eaten yet today, if Will hadn't of dragged her to get food, I'm sure she'd of been here now."

"Its fine, food should definitely come first and you seem to be pretty happy to take her place."

"Well Jasmine said she would've got lost if someone didn't come with her so…"

"In that case it's a good job you came with her, have you got a busy rest of the day?"

"Yeah and I'm having a hard time staying awake right now, so it should be interesting."

"Well you should go and eat some lunch Ethan," Jasmine told him, as Gabriella started up the car. "It might help you stay awake…just."

Ethan chuckled, as he gave Jasmine a quick hug through the open window. "I'll see you tomorrow Jazzy, bye Mrs Bolton." The ladies said their goodbyes and watched Ethan jog back towards the school, before Gabriella pulled away from the curb, Jasmine already talking non stop about her new friends.

As they pulled into their street, Gabriella had one final comment to make before they started talking about Jasmine's actual school day rather than her new friends.

"Well at least he's cute."

"MUM!"

**TGTGTGTG**

**Kinda a random place to end it, but it felt right so deal with it. **

**I actually kinda like this chapter, how weird!**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!**


	5. A Deep Trust

**Alrighty, four points to make:**

**Firstly, I don't own anything apart form the story line.**

**Secondly, where have you all gone, there were hardly any reviews last chapter and I'm struggling with this story as it is.**

**Thirdly, there is one very special person who helped me to come up with a lot of the ideas you'll now be reading in the story, without her I don't know when you would've gotten this chapter, so thank you so much A! :D**

**Fourthly, the story has moved on since the last chapter the twins are now eight months old and it's the end of May.**

A Deep Trust

Jasmine shivered and wrapped her arms tighter around herself as the bus doors opened to let more people get off, her shivering not going unnoticed by Ethan.

"How on earth are you cold?" He asked, as he shrugged off his zip up hoodie and placed it around Jasmine's shoulders.

"I have no idea, but I'm freezing," Jasmine answered as she put Ethan's hoodie on properly.

"Maybe you're coming down with something," Ethan told her, as he picked up his bag ready to get off the bus.

"I seriously hope not, I hate being ill," Ethan smiled as the bus came to a stop.

"Well then it's a good job we've got a long weekend then isn't it? See ya Jazzy," And with that Ethan was up and off of the bus.

"Ethan wait…your hoodie," There was no point trying to catch him, he was already jogging down the road to his home. _Oh well, I'll just have to give it to him tomorrow._

For varying reasons, including teacher training and minor school improvements, the students had been given a four day weekend and while Ellie and Will were visiting family, Ethan had invited Jasmine over to his house to hang out while their friends were out of town.

Troy had of course been wary of his daughter spending the day at a boy's house, but when Jasmine had told him that his Mum and sister would be there, he had then changed his mind and agreed to her going. But now, as Jasmine shivered and then sneezed, she hoped she wasn't coming down with anything, she was looking forward to tomorrow.

Troy and the boys were waiting for her on the front porch when she walked up the drive and as soon as they set eyes on their sister, Michael and Mitchell started making their way towards her.

"Hey guys," Jasmine greeted happily, as she dropped her bag onto the floor and plopped down onto the porch steps, scooping them both onto her lap and tickling their sides to make them laugh.

"JA!" They both chanted together, over and over again as they poked her face and pulled at her hair.

"Hey don't do that, my hair is attached to me you know," Jasmine winced as she pulled her hair from the twins' hands, before putting them back them back onto the porch decking so they could crawl back inside. "Hey Dad," Jasmine greeted Troy, as she took his offered hand to help her up and into a hug.

"Hey sweetie, how was school?"

"Eh, not too bad, how was your day?"

"Yeah good thanks, we went to the park, I went on the slide," Jasmine laughed, as Troy pulled out of their hug and picked up her school bag. "I was with Michael before you start looking at me strangely," Troy told her, as he shut the door behind them once they were inside. "Do I want to know why you're wearing Ethan's hoodie?"

"I was cold on the bus Dad, like seriously cold, I was shivering, so he put his hoodie round my shoulders, I didn't ask him, but I was shivering that badly that he felt he needed to. I was going to give it back but he was off the bus and running towards his house before I had the chance, so I figured I could just give it to him tomorrow, is that all okay with you?"

"Yes sweetheart it is, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get at you, it was very nice of Ethan to let you wear his hoodie. Now tell me why you're so cold in the first place, it's May Jaz, it's not exactly winter out there."

"I know, but I'm seriously freezing right now Dad."

"Maybe you're coming done with something sweetie, do you feel ill?" Troy asked, raising a hand to feel Jasmine's forehead.

"That's what Ethan said and I don't really feel _ill,_ as such, just kinda slow and achy."

"That kinda indicates that you probably are coming down with something Jaz, we'll just have a to keep an eye on you and see how you feel, it's a good job you've got a four day weekend to enjoy." 

"Yeah, but I won't exactly be enjoying it if I'm ill, will I?"

"No I guess not, like I said we'll just have to keep an eye on you, don't worry about it for now, there're more important things to be worrying about, like eating the brownies that have just been pulled out of the oven." Jasmine laughed, as Troy jogged through to the kitchen to get his hands on the brownies, only to be told off by Gabriella because they were still too hot to be eaten.

This was gonna be a good four day weekend, getting to spend time with her family and friends, she just hoped that she didn't come down with anything too nasty.

**TGTGTGTG**

Troy stretched as he rolled over to wrap his arm around Gabriella, but upon finding nothing but cold sheets, he wiped the sleep out of his eyes and sat up to see if she was in the en-suite, she wasn't, the door was closed and there was no light seeping from underneath it. Sighing, Troy threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed, he needed to find her before he went back to sleep, he couldn't sleep without her.

Stepping out of their bedroom he waited to see if he could hear anything and when he couldn't he figured he'd need to investigate further. Walking past the nursery, Troy quickly poked his head in to find no Gabriella, but the boys still sleeping peacefully and so he continued down the hall and finding Jasmine's bedroom door opened, he figured she wasn't in there either, it seemed he would have to widen his search even more, although now he was searching for both of his girls.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Troy could hear voices coming from the living room and so headed in that direction, something was wrong for both of them to be up and downstairs.

"What's going on in here?" He asked, as he rounded the corner into the lounge, only to Gabriella comforting Jasmine as she heaved the contents of her stomach into a plastic tub. "Alright, don't answer that." He told them quietly, as he rounded the coffee table and sat down next to Jasmine, wrapping an arm around her, as she tried to regulate her breathing through her tears.

"Alright sweetheart, you hold onto this and cuddle with your Dad while I go and clean this out," Gabriella handed Jasmine a clean tub as she took the used one away.

"I'm s-sorry Dad," Jasmine stuttered out, as Troy draped a blanket over her shoulders.

"Angel don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for, everyone gets sick, it's not your fault," Troy moved them so that they were leaning against the back of the couch and started running his hands through Jasmine's hair as she curled herself as close to him as she could get.

"But now I c-can't go t-to Ethan's."

"I know you can't sweetheart and I'm sorry about that, but Ethan will understand, hopefully this is only a twenty four hour thing, you'll get over it quickly and then maybe you can go to Ethan's on Sunday. But don't worry about that now, we need to focus on you getting better first, alright?" Jasmine nodded and closed her eyes, as she settled herself against Troy, for now her stomach seemed to be settling down and for that she was glad.

"How long has this been going on?" Troy asked Gabriella, as she came back into the room with the clean out tub and took a seat on the other side of Jasmine.

"We've been up about forty five minutes, I went to the loo and when I was checking on the boys Jasmine was coming out of her room saying she didn't feel great and was gonna go and downstairs and get some water, so I came down with her and she started to feel a bit dizzy so we came to sit in here for a bit and then about fifteen minutes ago she felt like she was gonna be sick, so I got her some tubs and then you got here. She keeps apologising though and I keep telling her that it isn't her fault," Gabriella said, more to Jasmine then to Troy, as she pulled Jasmine's hair out of it's messy, sweaty pony tail and scooped it back up into a neater one.

"That's what I told her right after you left when she apologised, everyone gets ill, it's just the way it is." Troy kissed Jasmine's forehead gently and they sat quietly for the next few minutes, waiting to see if Jasmine's stomach would play nice.

"Thank you for looking…oh god," Jasmine didn't get a chance to finish her thanks, before her stomach finished its emptying process and brought up every last bit of its contents. Troy sat her up straighter and between them, he and Gabriella comforted Jasmine through her sickness.

When Jasmine flopped back against Gabriella, weak and crying through embarrassment, Troy took away the used tub to rinse out, while Gabriella placed the clean one on Jasmine's lap and encouraged her to calm down, in a hope her tears would go away. Slowly but surely they did, and when Troy returned with a glass of water for her to clean her mouth out with, she was almost asleep as she curled herself against Gabriella. But between them, Troy and Gabriella managed to sit her up and help her wash her mouth out, before they decided it was time to try and get some rest.

Troy carried Jasmine upstairs and they made a quick stop off at the bathroom so that Jasmine could use the toilet and clean her teeth, getting rid of the horrible acidy taste left behind. Now, they were all in Troy and Gabriella's room, trying to decide the best way for them to share the bed, Jasmine hadn't wanted to be alone and Troy and Gabriella felt better knowing they were closer if she needed them.

"Can I lie on Dad's side, so that I can face the edge and be close to a tub in case I need one?" Jasmine's throat was sore and her voice raspy.

"If you want to sweetheart, but don't you want to lie in the middle so that we can warm you up a bit?" Gabriella was concern over how much Jasmine was shivering.

"No, I just wanna curl up and cuddle with Rosie, but I wanna be near you guys, I can go back to my room if not."

"No sweetie you can stay here, come on," Gabriella climbed onto the bed and held the covers up on Troy's side of the bed for Jasmine to slide into and once she was comfy, she slid under the covers as well and held them up for Troy to climb in, on what would normally be her side of the bed.

"Alright angel, if you need us you wake us up, it doesn't matter what time it is 'cause I'm not working today, so there's no rush to get up, you hearing me?" Jasmine nodded sleepily, before rolling over and cuddling down under the covers and Troy and Gabriella weren't far behind her, after a quick kiss the couple cuddled together and were soon well on their way to sleep.

**TGTGTGTG**

Friday was spent in bed, Troy and Gabriella's bed to be precise and although her stomach was empty, it still tried to empty itself multiple times causing Jasmine to feel very weak and dehydrated.

By the time evening rolled round and Troy was giving the boys their bath before bedtime, Gabriella had decided to spend some time with Jasmine and so ran her a bath in their en-suite and sat with her while she soaked in the water and then helped her change into some fresh pyjamas, before they then cuddled back down in bed to watch the telly. That was where Jasmine spent the night again, after falling asleep against Gabriella and then waking up frightened and disorientated, Troy and Gabriella wanted her as close as she could be.

Now though it was Saturday and after waking up at midday and managing to keep down a couple of dry cracker, Jasmine had then migrated back to her own bed, claiming her parent's queen size bed made her feel incredibly small and lonely.

She was currently propped up in bed, watching some reality TV rubbish about training badly behaved dogs, when there was a knock at the door and she turned her head to see Gabriella leaning against the now opened door.

"Hey Mum."

"Hey sweetheart, you've got a visitor if you're up for it?" Jasmine nodded and sat up more in bed, as Gabriella allowed Ethan to enter the room.

"You're here," Jasmine was shocked to see Ethan standing in her bedroom.

"She's so observant," Gabriella told Ethan who chuckled. "I'll be down stairs if you need me." And with that Gabriella was gone, although she didn't completely shut the bedroom door as she left.

"I can't believe you came to see me Ethan," Jasmine patted the side of her bed, as an indication that she wanted him to sit down.

"I wanted to come and see how you were doing, when your Dad phoned yesterday he sounded really worried about you and some of that rubbed off on me, I wanted to come and check on you but I was looking after my sister, but she's gone to a friend's today, so I phoned your Dad and asked him if you were up for visitors, he said you were and here I am, I can go if you like?"

"No, please stay, I'm kinda lonely up here by myself. I'm sorry I couldn't come yesterday, I was really looking forward to it."

"It's fine Jaz, you were ill, there was nothing you could do about it, your Dad said you can tomorrow if you feel up for it, he says you have his permission." Jasmine laughed softly, as she rearranged her pillows against her headboard and then turned shyly, to look at Ethan.

"Hey what's up? You don't feel sick again do you?" Jasmine shook her head as she bit her lip.

"Will you cuddle with me?" She sounded so shy and vulnerable, that Ethan felt his heart beat double time.

"'Course I will," Ethan said, as he took off his shoes. "What we watching?"

It was as the programme's credits were rolling, that a question popped into Jasmine's mind.

"What's her name?"

"Who?" Ethan asked, not knowing who Jasmine was talking about.

"Your sister, what's her name?"

"Oh right, her name's Summer, she's eight." Ethan answered, as he wrapped his arm even tighter around Jasmine's shoulders.

"What does she look like?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Ethan chuckled, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "She looks exactly like our Mum, where as I look like Dad did. She's got curly, long blond hair and green eyes, although we've all got them, here look," Ethan unlocked his phone and showed Jasmine his wallpaper, a picture of a beautiful smiling eight year old.

"She's really pretty."

"Yeah, she's gonna have boys all over her when she's older," Ethan said, as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Ethan?"

"Yeah Jaz?"

"What do you mean you look like your Dad _did_?"

"He's not here anymore; he died when I was ten Jaz."

"I'm so sorry Ethan, I didn't know," Jasmine wrapped her arms round Ethan and decided that this was the time to tell him one of her biggest secrets. "Ethan, Gabriella isn't my Mum." Ethan loosened their embrace to look Jasmine in the eyes.

"I don't understand."

"Gabriella isn't my birth Mum, she's been my Mum since I was two and she's legally on paper been my Mum for about eighteen months now, but she's not my birth Mum, her name was Jessica, she died because she gave birth to me."

"I…I really don't know what to say Jaz, you're all so close, I never would've guessed."

"Her and my Dad went through some really tough times when they first met, they've always been good together, it just worked, always has done, always will do. They've thought through to much together and they brought me up to fight as well, although I kinda failed at that a few months back."

"Okay, what's going on? Talk to me Jaz," Ethan was concerned about the tears that were gathering in Jasmine's eyes.

"The reason that I moved to your school was because I was bullied…badly. I said I failed at fighting because although I fought back to begin with, they were too strong for me and in the end, I just let them hurt me, both mentally and physically, the only reason Mum and Dad found out is because I locked myself in the toilets one day and refused to come out until Mum came and then after that I refused to go back to that school. I was really vulnerable and broken, but Mum and Dad were there for me, they looked after me and protected me and I'm here, where I am now, because of their help. I'm in contact with a counsellor as well, she helps me understand why I'm feeling certain ways and she's helped me a great deal as well. That's everything there is to know about me now, I'm sorry to have kept it from you." Ethan felt an overwhelming sensation, one that made him want to hold Jasmine close and protect her from all the hurt and sadness she'd been through.

"Where did they hurt you?" His voice was quiet and barely audible, he didn't want it to come across to Jasmine but all he really wanted to do was hurt the people who'd made her feel this way.

"My back…they would knock me to the ground in the changing rooms and then whip me with their belts, my back is pretty messed up because of it, permanent scars the doctors say."

"Is that why you didn't do PE to begin with? Because you were scared of it happening again?" Jasmine nodded and wiped away a few tears that had managed to escape. "Can I see? You don't have to, I understand, I just wanna see what they put you through."

"You can see Ethan, just please don't touch them," Ethan nodded, unsure of what she meant by 'them', but still moved to allow Jasmine to fully move out of their embrace and lift up the back of her top.

He soon found out what 'them' were, when he saw the slash like marks covering the majority of Jasmine's back. They'd healed a lot since she'd first shown them to Troy and Gabriella, thanks to the antibiotic cream the doctor had given her, but they were still very raw looking, especially the newer ones that adorned her lower back.

"I…Jazzy…I really don't know what to say."

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything, I don't want anymore sympathy from people, this is gonna be a part of my life forever and I…" Jasmine trailed off and took some breaths as she wiped away a few more tears that had fallen.

"Hey it's okay, please don't cry," Ethan helped Jasmine to put her top back down and then pulled her back into their cuddle, having a sudden urge to have her in his arms.

"I know we're only young Ethan, but I think and _hope_ that we're gonna be in each others lives for a long time and because of that I wanted you to know the truth, I'm sorry if you feel like it was too much."

"It's okay Jaz, I feel the same way, that's why I told you about my Dad so easily, not many people know that he's dead, the only reason the other two know is because we were friends when it happened, if I'd of met them after his death, like we did, I don't know whether I'd of told them." Jasmine smiled at Ethan as she leaned up to kiss his cheek, they'd both told each other their deepest secrets and that was because they had a trust between them that ran deep through their bones.

**TGTGTGTG**

She was happy to be out of bed and finally out of the house, it was nice to be out in the fresh air again, she was happy that her whole four day weekend hadn't been wasted away in bed.

Ethan had stayed for most of the afternoon yesterday and had even spent some time with the twins when Jasmine decided she was bored of being in bed and wanted to see her brothers.

Now though Jasmine was walking up Ethan's driveway after being given the all clear by Troy and Gabriella to spend the day at his house. She wasn't sure what to expect, she'd only ever seen the outside of his home, but most of all she couldn't wait to meet Summer, she couldn't wait to spend time with Ethan as well of course, that was a given.

She took a deep breath as she rang the doorbell and ran a hand quickly through her hair as she waited. It wasn't long before the door opened to reveal a shy looking Summer, who was still dressed in her night dress.

"Are you Jasmine?" Her voice was quiet, but somehow, Jasmine still managed to hear her.

"Yeah I am, you must be Summer."

"You can come in," Summer said and stepped back to hold the door open for Jasmine, who stepped inside and waited for Summer to close the door before bending down to her height.

"Where's Ethan honey?" 

"He's in the kitchen, making breakfast, we woke up late. Are you here to help because Mummy's ill?"

"No sweetie, I didn't know your Mummy was ill, is she in bed?" Jasmine wrapped an arm round Summer as she leant against her.

"No, she's in the hospital, she's very poorly, right Ethan?" Jasmine looked to where Summer was looking to find Ethan leaning against the kitchen door way.

"Summer, you're pancakes are ready, can you go and eat them please?" Summer nodded and silently made her way through to the kitchen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jasmine stood up and met Ethan in the middle of the hallway.

"Because I thought if we did they'd split us up and put us in care, we haven't got any family left and Mum thinks we're staying with the neighbours, but Summer didn't like that idea and I didn't know what else to do."

"How long has she been in hospital?"

"Since January."

"Ethan, that's five months ago, have you two been living here by yourselves for all that time?" Ethan nodded and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling for a moment, taking a deep breath as he looked back at Jasmine.

"I thought we could cope, Mum gave me her bank card anyway, for necessities and for a while we were okay. I thought we'd be able to cope for the time Mum was in hospital, but she keeps getting worse and they won't let her leave and now the final demands for bills are here and if we don't pay them everything is gonna be cut off. I don't know what to do Jaz, I don't know how to pay the bills." Ethan finally gave in and let the tears fall and Jasmine didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug.

"Hey don't cry, it's gonna be okay, Ethan look at me, here's what we're gonna do. We'll phone my Mum and I'll explain that you guys need some help and ask her if she can come over. We'll go to the hospital and she'll help to explain everything to your Mum, we'll sort out the bills and then find somewhere for you and Summer so stay, but we'll make sure you stay together Ethan. I promise."

"Ethan?" Jasmine gave Ethan a supporting squeeze before heading over to the kitchen doorway and gathering Summer up into her arms.

"Ethan's just a bit upset because of your Mummy being ill honey, but we're gonna try and make things better for you. I'm gonna phone my Mum and ask her to come over here and help us sort a few things out, then we'll go and see Mummy at the hospital, how's that sound?"

"Good," Summer answered around her thumb which was now in her mouth.

"Alright, you go and get dressed while Ethan and I clean up the breakfast things and when you're done we'll play with you until my Mum gets here, alright?" Summer nodded and wiggled out of Jasmine's arms, before quickly hugging Ethan around the legs and heading up the stairs to change.

Half an hour later the breakfast things were cleaned away and Jasmine made the call that would help Ethan and Summer through their current battle.

"Mum? We need your help."

**TGTGTGTG**

**It's been a while and I'm sorry for that.**

**I know it's been a while because I've upset the person who I thank for the ideas at the beginning of the chapter. I broke my promise to her and many others and I understand why she's so upset because I am too, but without her, I'm not sure if you guys would've received the rest of this story. **

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! Make me smile, I need cheering up, THANK YOU!**


	6. Help Is Here

**Thanks for the ****reviews guys, I appreciate them all.**

**As always, I don't own anything other than the plot line.**

Help Is Here. 

The worry in Jasmine's voice told her she needed to get to Ethan's _now _and so after quickly explaining to Troy, she was out the door and on her way there.

Jasmine had met her at the door and had explained everything to her as quickly as she could, Ethan was becoming increasingly vulnerable and didn't want to break down in front of Summer, so leaving them alone for too long wouldn't have helped.

Gabriella had listened intently to everything Jasmine had told her and had immediately reassured her that everything was going to be okay, but Jasmine would need to keep her cool, Ethan was going to need her now more than ever and her getting upset wasn't going to be any help at all.

Jasmine led Gabriella through to the lounge and found the siblings exactly how she had left them, Summer playing quietly on the floor and Ethan sat on the sofa staring off into space. Summer was the first to notice their presence in the room and being the inquisitive little girl that she was wanted to know who the new person was, so she went to introduce herself.

"Hey Summer," Jasmine greeted, as she picked her up and rested her on her hip. "This is my Mum Gabriella; she's here to help because you and Ethan can't live by yourselves anymore, is that alright?" Summer nodded and waved shyly at Gabriella.

"Hey honey, we're gonna go and see your Mum in a little while, do you want to go and get some stuff together?" Summer now had her thumb in her mouth and so nodded silently and let Jasmine put her down before heading off to get her things together.

Gabriella and Jasmine silently moved to sit either side of Ethan, they didn't want to scare him, but their movement had already alerted him to their presence. He lifted his head from staring at the wall and smiled softly at Jasmine before turning to Gabriella.

"Hey Mrs B, thanks for coming."

"It's not problem sweetheart, I'm just glad you've trusted me enough to help you." Gabriella couldn't help but notice how Ethan blindly reached for Jasmine's hand and how Jasmine's thumb was running back and forth over his knuckles reassuringly.

"I wasn't gonna say anything straight away, I wanted us to hang out for a bit first, I didn't to ruin Jasmine's day, but when Summer told her Mum was in hospital I didn't really have a lot of choice."

"You did the right thing though honey, making the decision to tell us, it doesn't matter that you were going to do it later, you made the decision and that's what matters, will it be okay to go and see your Mum now or do they have specific visiting times?"

"Mum's got her own room, so we can go in whenever, I don't know what I'm going to say to her though, we don't doing lying, we tell each other everything, especially since Dad died."

"It's fine Ethan, we'll be there to support you, she's your Mum, she'll understand that you were only trying to do what you thought was best for you and Summer, she won't be angry Ethan."

"I know she won't, I just don't want them to split me and Summer up."

"They won't sweetheart, that's the one thing I promise you we'll have control over, I think there maybe already be somewhere you can both go."

**TGTGTGTG**

Miranda Kean had been in hospital for five months now and over that time she'd only ever had two visitors, her son and daughter. She always knew when they had arrived; there was a lot of commotion as they made their way onto the ward and the nurses would often laugh at home excited Summer was to see her Mum, despite the current situation the young family was in.

Today however, she could tell it wasn't just her children because the commotion stopped and they had a conversation with the nurses before appearing in her room with two extra people.

"Mummy!" Summer was always the first to enter the room and would always give Miranda a hug, but she would always ask first, she didn't want to hurt her Mummy.

"Hey sweetheart, it's okay, you can cuddle with Mummy today, I'm feeling really good," Summer smiled happily and jumped up onto Miranda's bed, cuddling into her Mum's side as she savoured the hug only a Mum could give.

"Hey Mum, how you feeling?" Ethan came in next and while he circled the bed to give Miranda a hug without squashing Summer, Gabriella and Jasmine waited in the doorway to let the family have some deserved time together.

"I'm feeling really good sweetie, they started me on my new medication last night and I'm already noticing the difference."

"That's really great Mum, this is my friend Jasmine and her Mum Gabriella, they came with us today because I've got some important stuff to tell you."

"Well then you ladies better come on in, there's room for us all, I'm Miranda by the way."

"It's nice to meet you Miranda and to put a face to the name," Gabriella said, as she came and lifted Summer off of the bed so she could get out all her toys and play in the corner.

"It's nice to meet you too ladies, I can't say I've heard much about you Gabriella, but I've definitely heard a lot about you Jasmine."

"Well now I just feel embarrassed, thanks Ethan," Ethan simply shrugged as Jasmine gave him a quick reassuring hug, before heading over to play with Summer, knowing that Ethan needed to have this talk alone with his Mum, with Gabriella there as his support system.

"Mum, there's some stuff I need to tell you and Gabriella and Jasmine already know, that's why they're here today, but you need to know that I'm really sorry and I don't want you to be angry or upset 'cause…"

"Ethan," Gabriella stopped Ethan's rambling and made him look towards her. "Your Mum will understand, just stay calm and explain it to her life you have us." Ethan nodded slowly and took a deep breath, as Miranda gave Gabriella a thankful smile and took her sons hands in her own.

"Gabriella's right Ethan, whatever it is, I'll understand, I won't be angry or upset, just explain it to me slowly and calmly, alright?" Ethan nodded and gripped onto Miranda's hands tighter.

"Mum, Summer and I…we haven't been living next door, I've hardly even seen them in the time you've been in here. Summer didn't want to stay with them, she said she wanted her own room and all of her things around her, so I told her we could stay at home, but she just wasn't allowed to tell anyone, not even you. So that's what we've been doing, staying at home by ourselves and to begin with everything worked out just fine, I was able to use the card you gave me to get money out for food and stuff and nothing happened that we couldn't cope with. But then the bills started arriving and I just left them because I thought you'd be home soon and then you could pay them, but you kept getting worse and you weren't coming home and the bills were piling up and now the final demands have arrived and if we don't pay them they're gonna turn everything off, but I don't know how to pay the bills and if I told you then you'd know we were still at home and…I'm sorry Mum, I'm so so sorry." Ethan broke down in tears and Miranda was quick to pull him into a hug, holding him against her chest and shushing him until his tears finally subsided.

"Ethan sweetheart, look at me please," Ethan slowly sat up and let Miranda wipe away his tears before she took his hands back into hers. "I'm not angry or upset with you honey, you were doing what you thought was best for Summer and I can never be angry at you for doing that. I knew that something wasn't right anyway, when you brought me my post and I had statements sent from the bank, you had always been taking more money out than I had expected you to, especially because I thought you were staying next door, but it wasn't big amounts and the money wasn't low and I trusted you with whatever it was you were using it for, so I didn't say anything, I just let you get on with it and kept a bit of an eye on it. The main thing that caught my eye was that next door never came and visited me with you, they never gave you two and lift up here and neither of you ever mentioned them. I _did_ bring that up, but whenever I did, you changed the subject and Summer would completely ignore me. I should've looked more into that, but I never did, _I tried_, but I've just been so tired in here that I never got there and you two always seemed okay when you visited me so there was never anything to cause major alarm. Now tell me, when are they going to turn things off?"

"The end of the week, I'm sorry Mum; I didn't know what to do, can you pay them today? Gabriella has them with her."

"Well if Gabriella has them with her then yes, I can phone the companies and pay them over the phone." Miranda pulled Ethan into another hug, as Gabriella pulled the bills and some credit cards out of her bag.

"Ethan wasn't sure which credit card you'd need to use to pay them, so we brought them all with us rather than trying to guess," Gabriella handed the bills to Miranda and allowed her to take the right credit card before putting the rest back into her bag.

"Alright, I'm going to pay these and then everything is sorted and there's nothing else to be told, correct?" Ethan nodded and handed Miranda his phone. "You go and wash your face and then go down to the canteen with the girls and get something to eat and drink bring back some coffees for Gabriella and I, alright?"

"Yeah okay, I don't have any money though…"

"It's okay Ethan, it can be my treat," Gabriella said, as she pulled her purse out of her bag and handed Ethan some money. "I'll have a cake with my coffee though and bring something back for your Mum as well, okay?" Ethan nodded and thanked Gabriella for the money before quickly heading into Miranda's attached bathroom to washing his face and then heading down to the canteen with the girls.

**TGTGTGTG**

Ten minutes later all of the bills were paid and Miranda handed everything back to Gabriella so she could take it back to the house for her.

"If you don't mind me asking Miranda, what exactly are you in hospital for? Ethan's told us you've been in here since January, but he's never told us what for, feel free not to answer."

"No it's fine, I haven't had the chance to talk to an adult who isn't medically trained and knows more than me, you're not a doctor are you?"

Gabriella laughed. "No I'm not, I'm a High School teacher, my husband is a doctor, but he specialises in emergency medicine."

"Rather him than me, no basically just after Christmas I picked up a really bad couch and cold, it was so bad I was finding it hard to breath and one day I started panicking because I couldn't catch my breath at all, so Ethan phoned for an ambulance, they brought me to the hospital and I was admitted the same day. They thought it was something to do with my lungs to begin with, but after a shed load of tests they found out it was my heart causing the main problem. They said there was an operation they could do and after explaining it all to Ethan I decided to go ahead with it, but then I picked up an infection and I had to lose that before I was allowed to have the op. Anyway, it was about the middle of March when I was finally well enough to have the op and it all went well, they fixed what needed to be fixed and it seemed like I'd be out of here by the end of the month, clearly I wasn't. Because of the operation I'm going to have to be on medication for the rest of my life, which I can live with, taking tablets for life and not having a life…the choice seems pretty obvious to me. Anyway, the medication has to be tailored individually to each patient and to cut a long story short, the first three sets of medication they gave to me, I reacted badly to and was seriously sick, those were the times when Ethan thought I would be coming home and then I got sick so I couldn't. But, last night they gave me my forth set of medication and so far everything seems to be working out, I haven't been sick or had any bad reactions to it, which with the other ones I had by now, so things seem to be looking up. The doctors say if I carry on the way I am I could be out of here by the end of next week, the week after at the latest, but that's still another five days at the least, they can't keep living by themselves Gabriella, it's not fair on Ethan to be taking care of Summer." Miranda reached up a hand to wipe away a few stray tears, as Gabriella took hold of the other in comfort.

"Miranda I may have somewhere for them to stay, if you're willing to let them. I phoned my Mum this morning, just after Jasmine asked me to go over to your place, I told her the situation and she said as long as you're okay with it, then she'd happily have Ethan and Summer living with her until you're back on your feet. Her name's Maria, by the way, and she only lives ten minutes from my house and five minutes from yours, so the children can easily pop into yours to pick up the post and stuff and can come round to ours if Ethan wants to see Jazzy or if Summer wants to play with the twins, or if my Mum has a meeting then we'll have them for a while. Basically none of it will be an inconvenience to anyone and we really just want to help you, I know you don't know me at all, but I've come to know Ethan really well recently and I don't want to see him hurt or upset."

"I don't want to see him hurt or upset either, Summer as well for that matter. You're right, I don't know you very well Gabriella, but like you have come to know Ethan, I've come to _hear_ a lot about Jasmine and from what I can tell, her and Ethan have come to be very close and I don't want to break that apart, I think he needs her now more than ever, so yes Gabriella, if your Mum really is sure, then I'd be more than happy for them to stay with her."

**TGTGTGTG**

"This feels really weird."

It was late in the evening as Jasmine and Ethan sat on the living room floor, leaning against the couch, as they cuddled up in sleeping bags. After the children had returned from the canteen and the new living arrangements had been explained to them, Jasmine asked if Ethan could stay at the Bolton's that night, giving him and Summer some time apart and allowing Summer to become accustomed to Maria's house without Ethan there as her security blanket, she needed to feel safe with people other than her brother.

Summer wasn't too sure about that idea to begin with, but after meeting Maria and being promised a take away tea of her choice, with some of Maria's famous double chocolate brownie's for desert, she was quickly won over.

Troy and Gabriella, well mainly Troy, hadn't wanted Ethan and Jasmine to sleep in her room where they could shut and lock the door, but had agreed to them sleeping on the living room floor and having a movie night, as long as they didn't make a load of noise or stay up ridiculously late.

"What feels really weird?" Jasmine asked, as she grabbed some popcorn from the bowl on Ethan's lap.

"Being here with you and not at home watching telly in bed or comforting Summer from a nightmare, most of the time she'd end up in my bed with me."

"How come?" Jasmine asked, as she took some more popcorn and then leant her head against Ethan's shoulder.

"Her nightmares would be about Mum dying or her becoming really ill and never coming home and she'd just be so upset that I wouldn't want to leave her alone and so I'd let her sleep in my bed so I could give her a hug and keep and eye on her."

"You're a great big brother Ethan; it's clear how much you care about Summer."

"I love her more than I could ever explain Jaz. She was five when Dad died, no five year should have to go through that, she didn't really understand what happened then and I don't think she really understands now. We've told her that he's in heaven with the angels and that he's looking over her and keeping her safe, but other than that, she really doesn't understand." Ethan wrapped an arm round Jasmine's shoulder, as she cuddled closer against him.

"No child should have to go through that and I'm really sorry that you had to."

"I'm really sorry that you never even got to meet your Mum, did she even get to hold you?"

Jasmine shook her head. "Dad told me they were going to place me on her chest as soon as they'd cut the cord, skin to skin bonding they call it. But as soon as I came out, my Mum, her name's Jessica, fell back against the bed and became all unresponsive. They took me away at that point and all they told day was that Mum was bleeding out way too much. Basically, about half an hour after I was born, I think, Mum died and Dad became a single Dad."

"Does it feel weird calling Gabriella Mum? I don't think I'd ever be able to call someone else Dad."

Jasmine shrugged. "It sounds wrong, but I feel weird calling Jessica Mum, but I think it's because I never knew her as my Mum. Dad explained to me that she was with the angels when I was really little and he showed me pictures of her, but because she was never there I never called her Mum. I asked Gabriella to be my Mum when I was two and I've pretty much called her Mum ever since, it just feels right. But she understands that sometimes when I wanna talk about Jessica, that I'll call her Mum because she really is my Mum…none of that made sense, but yeah…" Ethan chuckled, as Jasmine buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's okay Jazzy, I get what you're saying, you call Gabriella your Mum because she's the only Mum you've ever known, but Jessica will always be your birth Mum and you'll always talk about her that way. It would be different for me because I grew up calling my Dad, he's Steve by the way, Dad, I was taught to do that and because he was here I always did that. If a new man came into Mum's life it would be hard for me to call him Dad because I grew up with a Dad, where as you didn't grow up with a Mum so it was easy for you to call Gabriella Mum. Well that is complicated…how come _you_ asked Gabriella to be your Mum?" Jasmine laughed and turned her head so it was no longer buried in his shoulder, but leaning against it again.

"Her and my Dad were really close, they'd been going through some really tough times and so because Grandma wanted to keep an eye on them both and 'cause it was Christmas, Dad and I moved in for the holidays. Basically, I don't really remember, but apparently I asked Grandma if Gabriella could be my Mum and I was insistent that we got a mug made asking her to be my Mum. Dad didn't know about it, so I kept it until the afternoon after all the other presents were opened and we'd had lunch to give it to her. She was pretty shocked, but Dad said he was fine with it happening, it was like me giving Gabi permission to be a constant in our lives and so she agreed and I've called her some variation of Mum ever since."

"That's really sweet Jazzy…just like you," Jasmine blushed as she turned her head to look Ethan in the eye. Their eyes locked and before they knew what was happening they'd kissed. It wasn't long or passion filled, but a sweet and meaningful peck, something both of them hoped would become Life Changing.

**TGTGTGTG**

**Well it's not as long as it could be, but I really struggled writing it and it's out sooner than the last one. **

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!**


	7. Life Changing

**So this story isn't getting the reception I thought it would, people said they would read it and it doesn't look like they are, it's fine, but because of the dwindling number of reviews it's going to come to an end, either this chapter or the next, I'll tell you at the end of this chapter, SO READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT **_**THE END.**_

**I looking forward to writing my next story, Little Mummy, which has a summary on my profile. **

Life Changing

June fourteenth.

Today's date…Jasmine's birthday…her thirteenth birthday to be exact.

Everyone looks forward to becoming a teenager, it's that one step closer to becoming an adult, but for Jasmine, it's been one more year that Jessica has missed out on.

Jasmine would always love Gabriella with all of her heart, but there was no straying away from the fact that Jessica would always be her birth Mum, a Mum that Jasmine never got to meet, a Mum that never got to watch her daughter grow up.

Just before Jasmine had turned nine, her and Gabriella had sat down and had a one to one chat. Gabriella wanted her to know, that despite the fact Jasmine called her Mum everyday, she was in no way trying to replace Jessica. She understood completely, that although Jasmine had never met Jessica, she would always be the young girl's Mum and Jasmine had every right in the world to call her that. It didn't matter that she wasn't around, if Jasmine wanted to refer to her, she should call her Mum, not Jessica, because _rightfully, lawfully_, Jessica would always be her Mum and there was no way on earth, that anyone would ever try to change that.

Both had been in tears by the end of the conversation and Troy had walked in rather confused, but he knew better than to ask questions. He simply plonked himself down in the middle of them and let them cry against him, until one of them found the right words to say.

It was Jasmine who broke the silence; she told Gabriella, and Troy, that she would refer to Jessica as Mum because that name was rightfully hers, but that wouldn't stop her calling Gabriella Mum, she had _earned_ that name and nothing was going to change _that. _

Every year when June fourteenth was approaching, Jasmine's mood would noticeably change. She'd go back into her shell and only a few people, the people who loved her and cared about her knew why. June fourteenth wasn't just Jasmine's birthday; it was the anniversary of Jessica's death and that was the reason why Jasmine was awake at half past seven, on a Saturday morning, on her birthday.

She didn't want to go and wake up her parents. Gabriella had picked up a horrible cold and had been stuck in bed for days, she was now on the mend though and Jasmine didn't want to wake her up while she was sleeping, she still needed all of the sleep she could get, her body was still recovering. She thought about just waking up Troy, but they always slept all tangled together and inevitably she'd still disturb Gabriella.

She'd considered phoning Ethan, but it was half past seven on Saturday morning, there was no way he was going to be awake or anywhere near a light enough sleep to even hear his phone going off, let alone answer it.

She _could _phone Maria, she'd answer the phone, but then Troy and Gabriella would find out and she didn't want that, not yet, they needed to sleep, so instead, she went to the next best people she could think of, Michael and Mitchell.

She didn't think they'd be awake yet, but that didn't matter, they could make her smile even when they slept, but as she approached their room, she could hear their babbling, apparently they _were_ awake.

As she stepped into the room, the view that she was met with brought tears to her eyes and a smile to her lips. Her brothers were both sitting up in their cots, facing each other, playing with their cuddly toys, the bears she'd given them when they were newborns. They were both completely attached to their bears, they went everywhere with them and it made Jasmine feel like it was their way of saying 'I love you', even though they couldn't actually _say_ it yet.

"Hey guys, you're awake," Jasmine's voice alerted the boys to her presence and they both immediately tried reaching for her. "Is this you trying to tell me you want to get up?" Jasmine moved so that she was kneeling in between the cots and was able to stick her fingers through the bars and tickle the boy's feet. They both laughed loudly and tried to throw their bears at Jasmine through the bars of their cots. "Alright, alright I get the message, we'll go downstairs, just let me change you both first." Mitchell was first; he was the easiest to change or dress because he would stay still, within reason, and let you get on with it, unlike Michael who liked to roll about as much as remotely possible, making the whole process take twice as long as it should.

Fifteen minutes later, the boys had both been changed and were being carried downstairs by Jasmine, who stopped as she reached the living room doorway because it seemed that Troy had decorated it last night before going to bed. There were pink and silver streamers handing off of photo frames, pink and silver balloons with 'Happy 13th Birthday' on them and big pink and silver banners with 'Happy 13th Birthday' on them, Troy really had pulled out all of the stops.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be seeing this yet guys, but never mind, I've seen it now," the boys babbled back an answer and wiggled in Jasmine's arms to be put down, so she stepped into the lounge and sat down on the floor with them, letting them pull some of their toys out of the boxes to make her play with them, she needed the distraction and the twins were perfect at it.

**TGTGTGTG**

"You weren't supposed to see all of this yet." An hour or so later and Jasmine turned her head to see Troy standing in the doorway in his pyjamas, his hair still ruffled from sleep.

"Yeah I figured that when I came down, but I'd seen it by then so there was no point in pretending I hadn't and these two wanted to play and wasn't gonna deny them that." Troy chuckled as he walked over to his children and joined them on the floor, leaning against the couch like Jasmine as the boys happily played together.

"How long have you been up sweetheart?" Troy knew it wouldn't have been the boys who woke Jasmine up, not today.

"I woke up about seven and went through to see these two about half past, we came down here once I'd changed them…I miss her Dad, she should be here today."

Troy sighed as he pulled Jasmine into a hug. "I know she should sweetheart and I'm sorry that she isn't, but look at it this way we've got Gabriella and Michael and Mitchell, I think that's just as amazing."

"Yeah Dad it is, is Mum okay?"

"Yeah, she's up and everything, she just wanted us to have a minute or two together before she came down, she'll be down in a few."

And Gabriella was, down in a few, and so presents were opened and a few tears were shed, but quickly wiped away and the twins were soon covered in wrapped paper. Breakfast was chocolate chip pancakes and as much syrup as Troy could fit on and then the real fun began, preparing for the party.

**TGTGTGTG**

It wasn't a big party, only the Bolton's, Maria and the Kean's were invited, but to Jasmine it was still a party. She and Ethan had grown increasingly close since their kiss in May and although they weren't in a relationship yet, they'd decided they were still too young for that, they had shared more kisses and tighter hugs, with public hand holding thrown in. I guess, really, they were in a relationship, they just didn't want to admit it, or tell Troy, he'd become like a Dad to Ethan and he didn't want to ruin the trust he'd gained from Troy, his daughter meant to much to him to do that.

Summer had become increasingly fond of Maria and has been spending the odd night with her, giving Miranda time to be with Ethan, or if he was with Jasmine, get some much deserved time to herself.

"Alright people, cake time," Troy's announcement made the lounge go quiet, until Summer walked in with the cake, guided by Gabriella and…

"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jasmine, happy birthday to you!"_Jasmine smiled as Troy took a picture and then held her hair out of the way before blowing out the candles and taking the cake from Summer so she could have a proper look. The cake seemed to follow the days' theme, with silver marzipan all over and then 'Happy 13th Birthday Jazzy' written on in pink icing.

"It's really lovely, thank you so much Miranda." When Miranda had asked Gabriella what she should get Jasmine for her birthday, Gabriella had run out of ideas, but having heard of her baking skills asked her if she'd make the cake. Miranda had been more than happy to put her skill to use and so after receiving a design from Gabriella the cake had come to life.

"It's no problem at all sweetheart; I'm glad I could make it for you and that you like it."

"Can we eat it now please?" Troy asked, sounding life a small child. "I don't care how pretty it looks, which is very Miranda, but I really want to eat it." Gabriella tapped Troy round the back of the head for being rude, but still allowed him to take the cake through to the kitchen to cut it into pieces.

As the party came to an end Jasmine realised that as much as she missed Jessica and wished she was here, she knew, that in spirit, Jessica, her Mum, would always be there.

**TGTGTGTG**

Life is filled with life changing events, I bet one happened to you today.

Troy had never expected his life to change so dramatically at such a young age, but it had and he would never change that, even if it did mean Jessica passing away. When he held Jasmine in his arms for the first time, he knew his life would never be the same again.

Gabriella knew from the day Troy comforted her in the library, her life was about to become interesting and when Jasmine asked her to be her Mum, she knew it was a life changing event.

Long story short, your everyday life is filled with life changing events, those little things that happen everyday that mean your life will never be the same again. Like when you become a big brother or sister, or even a Mum or Dad. Like when you have an operation, big or small, it's life changing.

Like when I self harmed, that changed my life, because I'm scarred or like when I made the decision to talk to someone about why I self harmed again.

Life is one big changing event, good or bad, things you do everyday change your life. Take what you want from this story, it doesn't matter to me, but promise me one thing?

Live your life to the full and let everyday be Life Changing…Again.

**TGTGTGTG**

**It was short and sweet, but it is the end guys, sorry.**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!**

**I'm sorry **


	8. Epilogue

**SURPRISE!**

**I finished this quicker than I thought it would, so this is my, slightly late, Christmas present to you all.**

**It jumps about a bit, but it works that way to cover all of the characters.**

**Merry Christmas!**

Epilogue…Ten Years On

To say Ethan was nervous would be an understatement because he was about to ask Troy for his permission to ask Jasmine to marry him.

The young couple were still going strong and were now living together in a flat not far away from their family homes. With Ethan now being a manager at the local sports centre and Jasmine about to graduate from university, as a fully qualified nurse, specialising in children's medicine, Ethan felt like the time was right to take the next step in their relationship, he just hoped that Troy agreed.

"Alright Ethan, what brings you here today?" Troy asked, as he came back into the room with coffee for them both.

"I have something I need to ask you and I'm not really sure how to say it, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Troy, I'd really like it if I could have your permission to ask Jasmine to marry me?"

Troy smiled slightly to himself as he took a sip from his coffee, he knew that this question would come at some point and he'd known the answer for a long time as well.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time now Ethan and my answer was decided a long time ago, you have one hundred percent of my permission to ask Jasmine to marry you; I'd be delighted to welcome you into our family."

"Thank you Troy, thank you so much," Ethan let out a sigh of relief, as the pair shared a hand shake and then went on to share some everyday chit chat until a voice from upstairs interrupted them.

"Daddy?" Troy smiled at the sound of the small voice and put his coffee cup down before heading up the stairs to retrieve the youngest member of the Bolton family, Eliza Jessica Bolton.

With Jasmine living with Ethan and the twins at school and becoming more and more independent each day, Gabriella had the sudden urge to add one more member to their family and a year and a half later Eliza was born.

"Look who's here Eliza, " Ethan heard Troy speaking to his daughter and put his coffee cup down to brace himself for the hug that was sure to come.

"Ethan!" Eliza's eyes lit up as she saw her almost brother-in-law and pounced on him for a hug.

It's been twenty one months since Eliza was born and she was definitely the thing that was needed to make the Bolton family complete. With Gabriella's looks and Troy's personality, Eliza was sure to have the boys fighting over her later in her life.

**TGTGTGTG**

It had taken five years of training, but she'd finally made it, Jasmine had finally graduated and the day had been attended by all of her family, including Miranda and a now nineteen year old Summer. Gabriella had decided to invite everyone back to theirs and so as everyone started to pile into their cars, Ethan realised that this would be the perfect opportunity to propose, he _knew_ it would be today, he just wasn't sure when, but unknowingly, Gabriella had just given him the perfect moment.

As the children played on their jungle gym and everyone else lounged round on the decking, Ethan decided it was time to make a speech.

"I just want to say how proud I am of all the work you've put into things Jaz and how you persevered, no matter how hard it got. I want to thank you for letting me be part of that journey and I also want to ask you a question." Dropping onto one knee, Ethan pulled the ring out of his trouser pocket and opened the box. "Jasmine, will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes of course I will," Jasmine's voice was quiet as she failed to keep the tears from falling and let Ethan put the ring on her finger before pulling him into an earth shattering kiss, not caring that they were in front of their family.

In the moments that followed, the girls cried as everyone congratulated the newly engaged couple and Ethan admitted that he'd ask Troy's permission first. This in turn, earned Troy a slap on the arm for not telling Gabriella, but despite the stinging sensation in his arm, Troy assured Ethan that he never came close to telling his wife, he was waiting to see the priceless look on her face as the question was asked, and, he decided, it was _most definitely_ worth the wait.

**TGTGTGTG**

Unlike her friends, nineteen year old Summer had never had a boyfriend, not a proper one anyway, she's held hands with a boy a couple of times when she was twelve, but that wasn't exactly what you'd call a relationship. It wasn't that boys hadn't been interested in her, they had, but Summer had never wanted to rush into things, when they had, and inevitably she had ended up hurt and very weary of boys.

But now that she was nineteen, Summer felt like there was something missing in her life and that something was a boyfriend, but unbeknownst to Summer, that was about to change.

For the past few weeks, Summer had been working in the shop at the local animal centre with a boy she knew from college. They weren't in the same classes, but had met through friends of friends a couple of times, although they had only ever exchanged pleasantries. Working together had meant that they'd gotten to know each other quite well and Summer had begun to realise that the way she felt when she was around Tom, wasn't the same way she felt when she was around her other colleagues.

Summer thought, or at least hoped, that Tom felt the same way and so today she was going to talk to him about it and if things went badly, then she'd have to deal with the consequences, at least she'd know either way.

Three months into being engaged and while at Eliza's second birthday party, Ethan and Jasmine had announced that they'd set a date for their wedding, June twentieth, Jessica's birthday. At the same time, Jasmine had asked Summer to be her chief bridesmaid, but had also told her she could invite a friend, male or female. Summer realised that this would be a good starting point when it came to talking to Tom, she would invite him to Ethan and Jasmine's wedding.

It had been a quiet day at work so far, the weather was nice and so people were out and about enjoying it, but this all played to Summer's advantage, she was going to talk to Tom, it was now or never.

"Tom? Can I talk to you about something?" Tom stopped his aimless tidying up around his till and turned to look at Summer.

"Sure Sum, what's up?"

Taking a deep breath, Summer looked Tom in the eye. "I love working with you Tom and I really like you and I know it's a while off yet, but I was wondering if you'd be my date to my brother's wedding in June?"

"Of course I'll be your date to your brother's wedding, I'd be honoured. But you're right, June is a long way off and I don't think I can't wait that long to spend some time with you, away from this place I mean, so would you maybe like to come to mine tomorrow night? We could order in and watch movies, I don't really have the money to go out, but next time we get paid we'll go out on a proper date."

"It's okay Tom, ordering in and movies is good, maybe we could get to know each other better as well? There's a lot of stuff you should probably know before you definitely decide to be my date to the wedding."

"There's a lot of stuff you should probably know about me as well Summer, but I'm telling you now, I _will_ be your date to the wedding, you're too precious to lose."

**TGTGTGTG**

Christmas was always a busy affair in the Bolton household and this year was no different.

Maria and Miranda were doing the cooking and so along with Troy and Gabriella, Jasmine, Ethan, Summer and Tom had been given the task of undoing and putting together Michael, Mitchell and Eliza's toys.

Summer and Tom's date night in, had consisted of her telling him about her Dad's death and her hurtful past with boys, while he had told her how he'd been abandoned by his parents as a new born and had therefore always been under the care of social services. It was the reason why he now lived by himself and didn't socialise very much, but also why very few people knew the truth about his life.

The couple had dated for almost a month before Tom had asked Summer to be his girlfriend and they've been going strong ever since.

Tom was here today because Gabriella hadn't wanted him alone at Christmas and she also knew that Summer would be all mopey if he wasn't here.

"How on earth are you not getting fed up with this?" Ethan asked Tom, as they sat surrounded by toys and boxes. "It takes twenty minutes to undo one and then they only play with it for like ten minutes before getting bored of it and wanting you to open the next one."

Tom shrugged. "From the age of twelve to eighteen, I was the eldest child in a residential home of twenty, my entire Christmas day was spent doing this, I've kinda gotten used to it."

"Is this your first Christmas out of care Tom?" Gabriella asked, as she helped Eliza change into yet another princess dress.

"Yeah, that's why I took you up on your other of coming here so quickly, I hadn't thought about what I'd do at home by myself and I still haven't to be honest."

"Well you're always welcome here and we're very happy to have you, right Eliza?"

"Right!" The little girl answered, running over to give Tom a hug, one which he happily returned, right before tickling Eliza and making her giggle echo throughout the house.

**TGTGTGTG**

It was a week later and the same people were celebrating, as the clock struck midnight and a new year started.

Michael, Mitchell and Eliza were all tucked up in bed, as Troy decided it was time to make a speech. He cleared his throat slightly and waited for everyone to quieten down before he started speaking.

"I think we should all make a group resolution and I think it should be to embrace all of the life changing events that take place this coming year and to enjoy them to the full. So, to life changing events?" He asked, as he raised his glass in a toast and waited for everyone else to do the same.

"Life Changing events!"

**TGTGTGTG**

**It's not very long, but I wanted to make up for the rubbish that I posted as this story's final chapter, hopefully it goes some way to making up for it.**

**I hope you've all had a fabulous Christmas and with any luck I'll be back writing for you all in the new year.**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!**


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